Burr Ito
@ututuy.org
Geophysicist | Astrophysicist at the Royal Observatory of Belgium.
Fluid Dynamics of Rotation | Helio/Asteroseismology | Planetary Fluid Cores. Mostly pics of clouds and timelapses. All media by me. He/him.
Fluid Dynamics of Rotation | Helio/Asteroseismology | Planetary Fluid Cores. Mostly pics of clouds and timelapses. All media by me. He/him.
The vibrations of an hypothetical planet.
December 2, 2025 at 5:27 PM
The vibrations of an hypothetical planet.
The orbiting moons of the gas giant planets are likely to drive resonant waves in the central planet via tides. Here's one such wave. It behaves as a gravity wave (aka g mode) in the convectively stable region in the center, while behaving as an inertial mode (Coriolis force dominated) outside. 🧪 🔭
November 15, 2025 at 12:25 AM
The orbiting moons of the gas giant planets are likely to drive resonant waves in the central planet via tides. Here's one such wave. It behaves as a gravity wave (aka g mode) in the convectively stable region in the center, while behaving as an inertial mode (Coriolis force dominated) outside. 🧪 🔭
This is an out-of-focus (on purpose) picture of a starry sky. The colors of the stars can be appreciated better this way. The color of a star tells its age. Bluer for younger, reddish for older stars. It took humankind a long time observing the sky and developing physics to understand this. ⚛️ 🧪 🔭
September 21, 2025 at 9:52 PM
This is an out-of-focus (on purpose) picture of a starry sky. The colors of the stars can be appreciated better this way. The color of a star tells its age. Bluer for younger, reddish for older stars. It took humankind a long time observing the sky and developing physics to understand this. ⚛️ 🧪 🔭
Asperitas clouds. This wavy pattern is caused by internal gravity waves (not gravitational!). These waves move in timescales much longer than surface water waves, but the physical mechanism is identical. 🧪 ⚛️
September 14, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Asperitas clouds. This wavy pattern is caused by internal gravity waves (not gravitational!). These waves move in timescales much longer than surface water waves, but the physical mechanism is identical. 🧪 ⚛️
A beautiful 22° halo, just now. 🧪
September 14, 2025 at 12:02 PM
A beautiful 22° halo, just now. 🧪
And here a short #timelapse of the #eclipse. You can see the dim red area shrinking as the moon comes out of the Earth's shadow. 🔭 🧪
September 8, 2025 at 7:21 AM
And here a short #timelapse of the #eclipse. You can see the dim red area shrinking as the moon comes out of the Earth's shadow. 🔭 🧪
The moon eclipse from last night, as seen from Belgium. It was visible a bit after totality. The shadow on the moon is the Earth's shadow. A curved shadow because the Earth is round! 🔭 🧪
September 8, 2025 at 7:21 AM
The moon eclipse from last night, as seen from Belgium. It was visible a bit after totality. The shadow on the moon is the Earth's shadow. A curved shadow because the Earth is round! 🔭 🧪
A peaceful Friday afternoon as seen from my office’s window at the @orb-sb.bsky.social in Brussels. Solar observations are still done regularly, as opposed to night sky observations which are impossible due to the high levels of light pollution in the city. 🔭🧪
September 7, 2025 at 10:16 AM
A peaceful Friday afternoon as seen from my office’s window at the @orb-sb.bsky.social in Brussels. Solar observations are still done regularly, as opposed to night sky observations which are impossible due to the high levels of light pollution in the city. 🔭🧪
Went for a hike, got a bit lost. Ended up next to a hidden pond. It was full of frogs!
August 10, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Went for a hike, got a bit lost. Ended up next to a hidden pond. It was full of frogs!
The Sun today: a new sunspot is rotating into our view (left), and sunspot group AR4168 (right) is rotating out of view.
We are about midway through solar cycle 25, which started around 2019. The solar cycles are 11 years long. So, we expect still more sunspot activity for some time. 🧪 🔭
We are about midway through solar cycle 25, which started around 2019. The solar cycles are 11 years long. So, we expect still more sunspot activity for some time. 🧪 🔭
August 10, 2025 at 8:56 PM
The Sun today: a new sunspot is rotating into our view (left), and sunspot group AR4168 (right) is rotating out of view.
We are about midway through solar cycle 25, which started around 2019. The solar cycles are 11 years long. So, we expect still more sunspot activity for some time. 🧪 🔭
We are about midway through solar cycle 25, which started around 2019. The solar cycles are 11 years long. So, we expect still more sunspot activity for some time. 🧪 🔭
A towering cloud casting its shadow on lower clouds. Plus a photobombing bug.
August 10, 2025 at 12:26 PM
A towering cloud casting its shadow on lower clouds. Plus a photobombing bug.
I'm no linguist but this translation makes complete sense to me.
August 9, 2025 at 10:48 AM
I'm no linguist but this translation makes complete sense to me.
Let yourself be hypnotized by these #rotor #clouds. The wind blows over the #mountain ridge and the setting sun behind the ridge gives the background light. The #vortices are very coherent. This #timelapse compresses around 30 min. into 15 secs. 🧪 ⚛️
August 2, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Let yourself be hypnotized by these #rotor #clouds. The wind blows over the #mountain ridge and the setting sun behind the ridge gives the background light. The #vortices are very coherent. This #timelapse compresses around 30 min. into 15 secs. 🧪 ⚛️
Rotor #clouds. They appear as a vortex parallel to the #mountain ridge. They form if a stable layer of air exists near the mountain top and the wind blows across the ridge. Very dangerous for aircraft. 🧪 ⚛️
#atmosphere
#atmosphere
August 1, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Rotor #clouds. They appear as a vortex parallel to the #mountain ridge. They form if a stable layer of air exists near the mountain top and the wind blows across the ridge. Very dangerous for aircraft. 🧪 ⚛️
#atmosphere
#atmosphere
This is the right direction.
August 1, 2025 at 8:16 AM
This is the right direction.
July 30, 2025 at 9:20 PM