BEAUTIFUL CIRCLES HAPPENING IN OUR WORLD RIGHT NOW

Circles are found in fascinating places in nature. The science and the math behind them are magnificent. And they are beautiful to behold.

1. STAR CIRCLES

Time lapse photo of a starry sky show of the circular, rotating motion of the earth. Some stars rise and set, while others are circumpolar, always visible. They make the most beautiful circles in photos like these stars, rotating around Polaris in the northern sky of Reno NV in a photo taken by lacomj over 3.5 hours of exposure.

2. RAINBOW CIRCLES

Did you know that all rainbows are round? It’s true. But, usually, you can only see half of one because the ground gets in the way. But, if you are lucky enough to get an aerial view of a rainbow, you can see a full circle -- you can see refractions of 360° of droplets.

Check out this full circle rainbow shot from a helicopter flying over Cottesloe Beach in Western Australia by photographer Colin Leonhardt of Birdseye View Photography.

3. ICE RIPPLES

Ice ripples out in concentric free-form circles in this frozen backyard pond.

4. ICE CIRCLES

An ice circle is a natural phenomenon that occurs in slow moving eddies in cold climates. They vary in size, with some over 4 metres (13 ft) in diameter.

 

Accelerating water creates a force called 'rotational shear', which can break off a chunk of ice as it rushes around a river bend. As it rotates in the water, it grinds against surrounding ice — forming a circle. Check it out in this icy cool video.

5. PUFFERFISH CIRCLES

A newly discovered species of Pufferfish (Torquigener albomaculatus) creates elaborate “underwater crop circles” in Japanese seabeds.

Males build the circles to attract female mates. The circles then serve as nests to protect the eggs which are laid in their centers.

Check out this awesome video to see the Pufferfish create these incredible circles.

 

6. HURRICANES

Hurricanes are rapidly rotating storm systems characterized by a low-pressure center, strong winds (over 74 m.p.h.), and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain.

Hurricanes spin around a 20 - 30 mile wide calm low-pressure circular center known as the “eye.” The eyewall, which surrounds the eye contains the storm’s strongest winds and rain.

7. WORM CIRCLES

The larvae of Dark-winged Fungus Gnats (family Sciaridae) feed on fungus and the root hairs plants. They live in large congregations and periodically move en masse to new locations.

Some migrate in processions up to ten meters long. Circles can form when the leading larvae mistakenly connects with the larvae at the tail of the “rope,” forming an endless loop.

8. CIRCULAR VINES

Simple vine curls in graceful circles, as captured by photographer frankieleon.

9. TREE RINGS

We had to include tree rings in our circle list, even though they are so commonly known. We know that a tree ring is simply a layer of wood produced during one tree's growing season. And by counting a tree’s rings, you can determine its age. But there’s a lot more tree rings can tell us.

The science of studying the past by looking at tree rings is called dendrochronology. Tree ring attributes and patterns can be used, somewhat like carbon dating, to date or cross date climate, geologic, and other impactful events.

The longest continuous tree-ring chronology in the world is a series of oak sequences that overlap for almost 10,000 years (100 centuries). This almost reaches the end of the last Ice Age, about 11,500 years ago.

10. CIRCULAR CANOPIES

We love the circular patterns of branches, leaves and sky captured by Colleen, of Purple Clouds of Dawn.

Read more about Beautiful Circles, as they relate to Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact including Awesome Circles of Light Now.

Enter your own images and ideas about Beautiful Circles in this week’s creative Photo Competition. Open for entries now until 11:59 p.m. PT on 03.15.15. If you are reading this after that date, check out the current BN Creative Competition, and enter!

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IMAGE CREDITS:

1. Photo: by lacomj. Northern Star Trails.
2. Photo: by Zoltán Bánfalvy. Ágasvár I.
3. Photo: by James Wheeler. Double Rainbow.
4. Photo: by C.Leonhardt/Birdseye View Photography. Double Rainbow over Cottesloe Beach.
5. Photo: by Odstane. Concentric Circle Ice Zen Garden.
6. Photo: by Филипп Бойцов. Ice Circle.
7. Photo: Courtesy of  The TerraMar Project. Pufferfish Circle.
8. Photo: by Mike Trenchard, Earth Sciences & Image Analysis Laboratory , Johnson Space Center. Hurricane from Orbit.
9. Photo: Courtesy of The Delaware Nature Society Blog. Worm Circle.
10. Photo by: frankieleon. Your Beautiful Curves.
11. Photo: by Darksair Sun. Tree Rings.
12. Photo: Courtesy of University of Missouri. Red Pine Section Studied by University of Missouri.
13. Photo: Courtesy of Purple Cloud Sat Dawn. Canopy.
14. Photo by: Scott Cresswell. Ripples of Colour.