Sunrise This Morning

The Crack of Dawn

Over the Rainbow . . . in Late December

A Smoky Day

We had a little rain and the county lifted the burn ban.

So someone over towards the cement plant decided today, a beautiful and clear day, with vision for miles and miles, was the day to muck up the skies with smoke and haze.

I shot these photos around 4 p.m.; it was much worse earlier in the day. Apparently it was a fairly large fire for it certainly polluted the entire area. I could even smell it in Daleville.

 

Sunrise, Sunset

Sunrise, December 18, 2016



Sunset, December 19, 2016

Sunset, December 19, 2016

Sunset, December 19, 2016
 

Sunday's Sunset

The Sky on July 22, 2015

Sunset Earlier This Week

Starry, Starry Night

I have long been fascinated by the night sky. I feel a great affinity for the moon and the pull of her power. I love how she is a lamp for those who need to see in the dark when she is at full power, and how she hides away during the new moon phase, giving shelter to those who need and seek dark places.

Sometimes we all need to hide from the light.

When I hear about meteor showers, I stay up to watch the streaks fly across the sky. I have been known to pull my car out of the garage and watch through the windshield on cold nights.

I photograph eclipses, or try to, and I watch the International Space Station when it flies overhead. (It can currently be seen in the early morning hours; on Wednesday, January 7, at 6:36 a.m., it will be in view for a full 6 minutes in the Fincastle area.)

When my mother became ill, my aunt bought her a star. I don't know where her star is in the sky and couldn't find her name in any online registry, though I noted that most of them did not go back that far in their listings. I thought it was pretty cool to buy a star, though I don't think that star name has any "officialness" about it (The International Astronomy Union, founded in 1919, says there is no way to officially name a star after someone). Regardless, it was a sweet gesture.

One thing I do not know, though, is the constellations. I can find a few of them - mainly the Big and Little Dippers, which apparently aren't even listed in the modern constellations - but others elude me. Even with a map of the sky I usually cannot figure it out. That's pretty sad, given that there are 88 constellations in the current listings.

Many of the constellations relate back to Greek and Roman mythology or astrology. Among the names I recognize from a chart are Andromeda, Aries, Cancer, Cassiopeia, Centaurus, Gemini, Hercules, Hydra, Leo, Libra, Orion, Pegasus, Pisces, Sagittarius, Taurus, and Virgo. Of course, that is not all of them. You can find the list of them all here, along with what look like very complicated charts.

Perhaps this will be the year that I study the stars, gazing upwards with a sky chart to find those constellations. It would be a nice way to spend a warm summer's night, standing in the grass, smelling the scent of cut hay, and watching the fireflies blink.

Sunrise, December 27, 2014

Sunrise, Sunset

Sunrise

 

Sunset

 

 

Clouds, Not Eclipse

I really wanted to see the partial solar eclipse yesterday, but when the time came, alas, there were clouds.

I even had my pin-point paper and all set up to see the thing, but there was nothing but cloud.

And while it made for pretty sunset shots, it did not make for a good eclipse.

And it wasn't long before the sun was behind Tinker Mountain and I couldn't see it anyway.

Memorial Day Fireworks

The Fincastle Baptist Church on Sunday set off a grand fireworks display for Memorial Day. The night was clear. I used my Nikon Coolpix P500 and a tripod to take these photos. I took about 150 pictures and I have to say these are some of the clearest and nicest shots of fireworks I have ever taken. I was very pleased when I downloaded them and saw how crisp and clear they looked.