North Pole...

If you stand at the North Pole, what way does your compass point?...

A few weeks ago while driving to or from Yosemite I had mentioned to Magellan some of the things I would like to do before I die. One of the things I would like to do before I die is go to the North Pole.

This was after I read an article either on-line or in a National Geographic Traveler magazine about paid excursions to the North Pole. It’s typically a 12~14 day trip starting in Moscow Russia. You board one of Russia’s nuclear powered ice breakers and head to Santa’s home. This trip is during the summer months when the Artic polar ice is weakest.

Unfortunately I read today it may be too late. According to a report in LiveScince.com that this year could be the first time in Human History that the North Pole could be ice free. I may never get a chance to stand on polar ice at the North Pole. Since no land mass actually exists, we will have to float a boat on the North Pole. This is not what I actually had in mind.

I need to start working on my bucket list, before my list disappears.

Cruises to the North Pole

Watch the video explaining what is happening to the North Pole today: Video: Melting Sea Ice Seen From Orbit

Moonbow...

Moonbow sounds like the name of one of Frank Zappas daughters...

The dynamics of my office are changing, and my bosses, boss suggested I take a few days off. Because they don’t know if I will get any time off in the near future. I took advantage of the offer and decided to take the last two days of last week off. This coincided with the June full moon.

Armed with the knowledge of a full moon and the understanding that Magellan had to work. I decided to take another trip to Yosemite Valley, alone. Last month when Magellan and I were in Yosemite it was also a full moon, but unfortunately I didn’t know about the “Lunar Rainbow” phenomenon. I found out about it after I got back to the house. However, this month I knew about it and was given the time to take advantage of the moon.

On Wednesday late afternoon I made reservations at Housekeeping campsite, and I think I got the last site available. Its summer and every hotel, cabin and campsite are booked through the summer and early fall.

I walked over to the Ansel Adams Gallery in Yosemite Village. If you are a photographer and find yourself in the Yosemite Valley, you need to make a stop at the Gallery. Not only is it a good place to cool down on a hot summer day, but it is a valuable fountain of knowledge. Most of the Ansel Adams Gallery staff are photography students or professionals. With very little coaxing they are willing to share their knowledge and expertise for free.

Example: I walked to the gallery and talked to the lady behind the photo counter. I told her that I had made the journey for the “Lunar Rainbow”. Immediately she told me that the previous night was the actually the full moon, but I should still get some good shots.

I explained that this was my fist time… taking lunar rainbow images, and before I could get the last syllable out she laid down a list of tips. The most important tip was the time. I knew the moon would rise around 9:30~10:00 PM. Yes it does for the rest of the world, but in the Yosemite Valley it has to clear the south rim. Which translates to several hours later. On Wednesday full moon for the Valley was around midnight. The next night, the night I was there, it was expected to be an hour later at 1:00 AM. I also asked for some tips and tricks.

My first image was shot with an ISO of 400. With and exposure of 101.0 seconds and an aperture of f/3.5. I didn’t want to blow it so I made sure I was wide open to get the image. As the night or morning progressed and I became more confident, I changed my ISO to 200, but kept the aperture wide open.

I shot from three different locations. Each time I changed location, I moved closer to the river and further away from the falls. My final position I found a flat boulder about 10 feet into the river. It was the perfect platform to set up shop. This allowed me to have more of the river flow in my image.

For my fist attempt I will say I didn’t do a bad job. However I did make some notes for next time. I would use a small aperture like f/16 or f/22 to give greater Depth of Field. I would also use a wider angle lens. I was used an 18mm ~ 200mm lens, set to 18mm. If I had a little wider lens I could have incorporated more of the night sky. Last, I would have done this at full moon in May. But I understand on the night of the full moon in May with the melt off water flow at full throttle that over 800 photographers were present to capture the event. More people then I would want to deal with.

Moon Illusion

See a Huge Moon Illusion Wednesday

Robert Roy Britt
Senior Science Writer
SPACE.com

As the full moon rises this Wednesday evening, June 18, many people will be tricked into thinking it's unusually large.

The moon illusion, as it's known, is a trick in our minds that makes the moon seem bigger when it's near the horizon. The effect is most pronounced at full moon. Many people swear it's real, suggesting that perhaps Earth's atmosphere magnifies the moon. But it really is all in our minds. The moon is not bigger at the horizon than when overhead.

The illusion will be particularly noticeable at this "solstice moon," coming just two days before summer starts in the Northern Hemisphere. The reason, according to NASA, lies in lunar mechanics: The sun and full moon are like kids on a see-saw; when one is high, the other is low. This week's high solstice sun gives us a low, horizon-hugging moon and a strong, long-lasting version of the illusion.

If it's any consolation, space station astronauts report the same effect.
Here's how it works: Your mind believes things on the horizon are farther away than things overhead, because you are used to seeing clouds just a few miles above, but the clouds on the horizon can indeed be hundreds of miles away. So if we think something (such as the moon) is farther away, and it's not, then it seems larger.

If you remain doubtful, test the idea yourself. Go out at moonrise with a small object, perhaps a pencil eraser. Hold it at arm's length as the moon rises and compare the sizes of the moon and the eraser, then repeat the experiment an hour or two later when the moon is high in the sky. A rolled up tube of paper works well, too.

Moonrise times vary by location. On Wednesday, it will come up at these local times at these locations, according to NASA: New York City, 8:58 p.m.; Miami, 8:35 p.m.; Seattle, 9:51 p.m.
The moon rises about 50 minutes earlier Tuesday night, when the effect will also be noticeable because the moon will be nearly full. Oh, and that raises another fallacy: There's no such thing as a full moon.

Additional moonrise times for your location are available from the U.S. Naval Observatory Web site.