Something for Sunday-Northern Lights

Copyright ©2024 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

With the all the intense Solar activity in the way of flares, and CME’s there have been Auroras are as low as Northern Nevada! I got an alert telling me the aurora was in my town and the KP rating was 8. Nine is the highest rating so I looked out the back door and I could see it so, I grabbed my camera, tripod, and cellphone, slipped into my shoes without tightening up my laces and dashed out the door. I didn’t grab a jacket, or my headlamp I was so excited. Here’s one of the many images I made.

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//circadianreflections.com Image

I’ve wanted to see the northern lights since I first learned about them as a kid. I always thought I’d have to travel way up north in the winter to have the best chance of seeing them.

Why is it pink? What causes the colors? I had to look it up because the Northern Lights (aurora borealis), here have been bright pink with some blues and purples, and very little green.

They are created when energized particles from the sun slam into Earth’s upper atmosphere at speeds up to 45 million mph (72 million kph). Our planets magnetic field protects us from the onslaught.

Earth’s magnetic field redirects those particles towards the poles transforming that energy into the dazzling display we call the Northern Lights or in the Southern Hemisphere the Southern Lights (aurora australis).

Most Northern Lights are green but when there’s been intense solar activity the color can be red, pink, blue, or purple.

Here’s a linkhttps://sciencenotes.org/aurora-colors-explained-southern-and-northern-lights/ to Science Notes that explains the Aurora colors in more detail.

I’m hearing and reading that it’s been seen all over the country. That’s so exciting!

Nikon D850| Nikkor 35mm f/1.8g| PS CC 2024

Whatever Weds. Tawny Pennant

Copyright ©2024 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

I was recently in Pinellas County, Florida visiting my Mom and Step-father and I did some birding too. While birding I always keep my eyes open for other things in nature like this Dragonfly.

I think it’s a Tawny Pennant-Brachymesia herbida. It’s in the Tropical Pennant family. If I’m wrong and you know what it is please let me know!

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//circadianreflections.com Image

I think he looks like he’s wearing an early pilot’s helmet, eye goggles, and smiling at me. Hamming it up for the camera I suppose.😊

Nikon D850| Nikkor 500mm| PS CC

more to come…

Whatever Weds. When Happy Hour means…

Copyright ©2024 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

Nap time! Happy Mid Week everyone!

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//circadianreflections.com Image

Nikon Df| Nikkor 28-105mm| PS CC

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One Word Sunday-Faces

Copyright ©2024 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//circadianreflections.com Image

This week Janet from This, that, and the other thing is hosting One Word Sunday. To play along or see what others have shared click over to her site here.

more to come…

Whatever Weds. A Summer Night Under the Stars

Copyright ©2024 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//circadianreflections.com Image

US Army fort ruins from the 1860’s.

Nikon D850| Nikkor 20mmf/1.8g| Single frame

more to come…

Something for Saturday-Just dropping in…

Copyright ©2024 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

…with a hop,

…and a flutter,

Image

to say have a great week-end everyone!

Nikon D850| Nikkor 500mm| PS CC

more to come…

Whatever Weds. A Starlit Night

Copyright ©2024 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

It’s that time of year when I yearn to be out imaging and gazing at the night sky. A friend and I went back down to Mono Lake to do just that. Thankfully, we didn’t have any clouds to worry about.

Milky Way the Great River in the Sky

The lake is really high eliminating a lot of the beach area we learned from our camping trip last month so, we knew to take our tall boots because standing in the lake might be our best bet for imaging. We scouted in the afternoon and found this spot. When we were leaving for dinner we ran into a Ranger who told us she would be giving a talk on the summer sky and constellations that evening on the beach and invited us back to attend it. We said we’d be there. The talk was a fast 2 hours. It was great hearing the stories the Native Americans tell about the stars and how they named the constellations and how to find them . The talk ended just after 10PM which was perfect as the Milky Way was already visible and we had some time to get to our spot in time for the Galactic Center to rise. The Galactic Center is the central region of our galaxy. The best months to photograph the Milky Way in the Northern Hemisphere are from May to August when the Galactic Center is highest in the sky and the weather is usually better in the warmer months.

We were standing in water to photograph this scene, but it wasn’t very deep, and the waves were gentle so we didn’t have to worry about a big one coming along and getting into our boots. 😊

I got home about lunch time yesterday, unpacked, got the car washed, and then started getting ready for a visit with my son and daughter-in-law. I’ll be on and offline for a bit. I hope your week and summer are going well.

Nikon D850|Nikkor 20mm F1.8G|

more to come…