334 replies to this topic

[member010719]

I intend to log here my observations  of Atmospheric Optics phenomena.

Yesterday ,  while riding back home , I witnessed the ''Belt of Venus'' phenomenon.

I saw it naked eyes and took some pics with my phone.

From home I cannot see the Belt of Venus because I cannot see the Horizon.

 

 

I'm very happy to see that I still find interesting  any astronomical  observation , even those not involving any astro gear.

 

Ziridava

[GlennLeDrew]

The best way to appreciate horizontally arranged atmospheric gradients is to tilt your head about 90 degrees, like you're trying to touch your shoulder with your ear. This markedly increases the visibility of subtle contrasts in color. We're so attuned to viewing the world from an upright perspective that the sudden change from horizontally layered to 'vertically' layered really makes things 'pop.' The Belt of Venus and a post-sunset sky are prime candidates for this perspective augmentation.

Edited by GlennLeDrew, 02 June 2016 - 01:45 AM.

[Cpk133]

This is one I'll add to my repertoire of observing oddities along with my snorkel and ski mask.  Funny, I'm always drawn to the sunset side of the sky.  I just love the deep orange and blue foreshadowing a great night.  The eastern sky always looks dingy and cloud like even when it's crystal clear, sometimes don't even want to look.  

The best way to appreciate horizontally arranged atmospheric gradients is to tilt your head about 90 degrees, like you're trying to touch your shoulder with your ear. This markedly increases the visibility of subtle contrasts in color. We're so attended to viewing the world from an upright perspective that the sudden change from horizontally layered to 'vertically' layered really makes things 'pop.' The Belt of Venus and a post-sunset sky are prime candidates for this perspective augmentation.

[member010719]

Thanks to everybody for the'' like'' s , I need encouragement because I'm a lousy photographer.

 

Thank you Glenn for the great tip.

I realized your suggestion is in line with something I'm doing.

I use some very small home-made refractors  like a 45mm x 300 mm  , not equiped with finders.

I noticed I don't need finders on them  because I have to be only careful at setting the telescope in the same vertical  plane with the target.

Moving the OTA up and down ,  the target is soon  caught in the field.

I can easily do this up to magnifications like 50x.

 

On 14 of April I saw pink clouds lit by the Sun already located under the horizon.

 

 

Last night I saw again '' pink '' clouds but this time they were around Zenith.

Is this counted as Atmospheric Optics phenomenon ?

Do they have a name ?

 

Regards , Ziridava

[member010719]

On 13 of April , from one to two o'clock local time , I saw a Sun Halo.

 

 

 

The halo was nearly invisible with naked eyes.

I spotted incidentally the halo through Sun glasses.

Filtered this way ,the halo was quite obvious.

The halo was a full ,complete circle with  a dim rainbow or spectrum  circling his rim.

The red strip was toward the inside of the halo.

The spectrum was also much better visible through Sun glasses.

The pics were taken with my Allview A5  phone.

 

Ziridava

[Special Ed]

Interesting stuff.  Are you familiar with Les Cowley's website?

[member010719]

Double thanks Ed .

I'm not familiar with this great website , a lot of good stuff there.

With the recent  increase in nebulosity I believe there will be more and more Atmospheric Optics phenomena to be seen.

So it is time for me to sit down to read and study the subject.

 

Regards , Ziridava

[Dave Mitsky]

The Belt of Venus or anti-twilight arch is discussed at http://earthsky.org/?p=3156 and http://www.skyandtel...-belt-of-venus/

 

I'm attaching a photo of the Earth's shadow and the Belt of Venus that I took from the observation tower at the summit of Spruce Knob in West Virginia.

 

Dave Mitsky

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[Dave Mitsky]

There's more on atmospheric optical phenomena at the following sites:

 

http://www.weathersc....php?cat=optics

 

http://rammb.cira.co...l-phenomena.htm

 

http://ww2010.atmos....r/opt/home.rxml

 

http://www.timeandda...phenomenon.html

 

Here's a shot of a solar halo, circumzenithal arc, and parhelia (sundogs) that I took from my front yard in December of 2009.

 

Dave Mitsky

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[drollere]

two books you might find fascinating: minnaert's "light and color in the outdoors" (a classic), and the recent "color and light in nature" by lynch and livingston. both cover a remarkably wide range of phenomena; lynch and livingston has excellent color photography.

 

a reminder that the atmosphere is simultaneously a lens (refracting) and a medium (scattering) that changes according to temperature, energy, altitude and the chemical composition and size distribution of suspended particles and molecules.

[Special Ed]

Here is a double rainbow a few years ago from my place.

 

[Doc Willie]

Several months ago astronomy writer Bob Berman asked me and a handy friend to come over to his observatory for some help with his scope. When we arrived he was out on the deck with his neck craned looking up at the sky. He said it was the most intense circumzenith arc he had ever seen. It was the first I had ever seen, so it was quite impressive.

Edited by Doc Willie, 08 June 2016 - 01:01 PM.

[member010719]

Dave Mitsky

 

Thank you and congratulations for the beautiful pictures and for the very interesting links.

 

drollere 

 

I believe I have somewhere the  book of Minnaert.

I forget about it , never readit it ,thanks for recommendations and for the reminder.

 

Special Ed 

 

Thank you for the very nice picture.

I saw in the past ,very rarely double rainbow but haven't took pictures of any until now.

I hope to do it this Summer.

 

Doc Willie

 

Congratulations , you was lucky to see and take pictures of that circumzenith arc.

I never saw such a phenomenon.

I should look to the sky more offen during the day ,not only at night.

 

Reading through the ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu site reminded me of  the crepuscular rays I saw in the afternoon of 9 May , right during the tranzit of Mercury.

Here are some pics made with my  Coolpix S3300 compact camera.

 

Ziridava

 

 

Edited by ziridava, 09 June 2016 - 06:54 AM.

[tchandler]

Chanced upon this sight will visiting the Yukon Territory near Kluane NP. Mountain top or the abode of spirits?

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[BrooksObs]

Tchandler, I'd be most interested to know the location and distance to the Sun at the time of your image, which I would guess to be the Sun very low and ~22 degrees to the left of the display.The feature seen would appear to be quite unusual given it's obviously positioned between the camera and the terrestrial background. I presume that the phenomena was a form of sundog generated by ice crystals (very fine snow) falling from the clouds seen immediately above given the northerly latitude from where the image was taken. Was the air temp around you below freezing at the time? Certainly a most unusual image, one worthy of further details concerning it being posted.

 

BrooksObs

Edited by BrooksObs, 09 June 2016 - 08:34 AM.

[tchandler]

Hey,

 

We had stopped at Kluane Lake, a were facing approximately east, very late in the day. The sun barely set at all when we were there as it was only about a week past summer solstice and we were located a couple of hundred miles south of the Arctic Circle.

 

It was around 10 or 11 PM. The sun was close to the horizon and situated approximately 140-150 degrees in a counterclockwise direction from the phenomenon. There was a dying thundershower over the mountains across the lake at the time. Here is another shot taken shortly before the light show began.

 

 

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[BrooksObs]

Thanks for details regarding your photo, tchandler. Given your description of the phenomena's location along the horizon relative to the Sun, it would seem that the pair of visible features shown were highly truncated segments of both a primary and a secondary rainbow due to the distant thundershower. Certainly makes for an interesting and unusual image.

 

BrooksObs 

Edited by BrooksObs, 10 June 2016 - 01:38 PM.

[Dave Mitsky]

Here's a shot of part of a solar halo and another one of my many pictures of the Belt of Venus and the shadow of the Earth.
 
Dave Mitsky

Attached Thumbnails

• 
• 

[Cpk133]

Might as well post my best halo photo:

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[Special Ed]

Very nice pics, everyone!  

 

Chanced upon this sight will visiting the Yukon Territory near Kluane NP. Mountain top or the abode of spirits?

 

tchandler,

 

That's a really striking picture.  It also brought back memories of Kluane Lake which I saw several times with my family when I was lad.  My father was with SAC and stationed in Anchorage--we made the journey on the Alaska Highway three times.  The Yukon Territory has spectacular scenery.  My personal favorite is still Muncho Lake.  Thanks for posting!

[Special Ed]

Here is a pic I took of a 22° ring around the Moon taken just before a big snowstorm last January.

 

[member010719]

tchandler , Dave Mitsky , Cpk133 and Special Ed

 

Thank you for posting your beautiful pictures of Atmospheric Optics phenomena.

 

Yesterday I saw again Crepuscular Rays before the Sun set.

I took the pics with the  phone through the windshield ,the quality of images  is not very good.

However I didn't miss the oportunity to enjoy the show.

 

 

Sunday night , from my place ,it was visible a   22 degree  Lunar halo.
It was visible only the upper half of the halo and even that one was too weak to be recorded by my Coolpix S3300 compact camera.

 

Ziridava

[hm insulators]

There's more on atmospheric optical phenomena at the following sites:

 

http://www.weathersc....php?cat=optics

 

http://rammb.cira.co...l-phenomena.htm

 

http://ww2010.atmos....r/opt/home.rxml

 

http://www.timeandda...phenomenon.html

 

Here's a shot of a solar halo, circumzenithal arc, and parhelia (sundogs) that I took from my front yard in December of 2009.

 

Dave Mitsky

 

 

My neighbor Arnold and I were walking home from feeding the cats for a neighbor who was away some months back and we saw something similar. I'd seen numerous halos and sundogs but never a circumzenithal arc until that day.

[Dave Mitsky]

I took this photo of a 22 degree lunar halo in October of last year. 

 

Dave Mitsky

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[Dave Mitsky]

Here's a shot of the lunar halo that occurred on December 25th of last year.

 

Dave Mitsky

Attached Thumbnails

•