Full lunar eclipse, full moon, October 8, 2014. I struggled trying to get my camera right and give to all of you decent photos. There were several photographers, videographers and binocular users at the site on the lake and there was sharing of how-tos. The maximum coverage occurred after the moon entered the horizon haze, got outmatched by the rising sun and was lost to our view. There was a collective sigh.
06:32:43 AM October 8, 2014
06:36:50 AM October 8, 2014
06:39:59 AM October 8, 2014
Sometimes, with my face to the camera, I don’t see the surprises that are waiting for me when I get home and upload the day’s work –
like this subtle ghost of the sun watching itself rise so brilliantly a few degrees to the east.
One sure harbinger of autumn for me is the appearance of the tiny calico asters.
The bloom is about the size of a quarter.
Mink are known as fierce predators and I have glimpsed them at the lake.
But I didn’t expect to see one contemplating the dawn sun as perhaps a tasty morsel…
I sent this photo to WRAL and Mike Moss of the weather bureau was kind enough to reply with the following explanation of what I photographed at 8:06 AM this morning at the Jordan Lake dam using my iPhone 5S. The photo is not edited in any way.
“Hi Ellen, You captured a nice example of the 22-degree halo, formed by light passing through a layer of millions of tiny hexagonal ice crystals that happen to be both well-formed and more or less randomly oriented. That happens on occasion with sheets of high cirrus clouds like those passing over the area this morning.”
[the small green dot at the top of the halo is from my iPhone]
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