This sunset image was in the file from a week ago. We get a lot of nice, colorful sunsets like this year around. Luckily, we didn’t have a dense cloud cover for yesterday’s eclipse.
The weekend forecast is for more clear skies and we will be looking the International Space Station tomorrow evening. At our location, the ISS will pass over just before seven PM AZ time. I might try and photograph the passing, but no guarantees. 😉
Click on the image to enlarge.
Damsel and I watched periodically as the new moon partially obscured the sun today. The eclipse stats for Phoenix (according to NASA) are as follows (Times MST):
The three-image panel above shows the lunar disc (left to right) just appearing, near maximum obscuration and just disappearing. I used the same setup today as I did for the 2012 annular eclipse and transit of Venus. Click on the image to enlarge.
The terms “magnitude” and “obscuration” above (I infer) refer to the percentage of penetration of the lunar shadow across the solar disc and the percentage of of the total solar area blocked by the moon. Those numbers (more or less) can be seen in the middle image above near max eclipse. I assume that the azimuth and altitude (elevation above horizon) are for maximum eclipse time.
We were blessed with beautiful, clear skies during the event and enjoyed yet another one of God’s wonders from our desert home. We’re still planning to be in a position to see the August, 2017 total solar eclipse event.
We are going to have a partial solar eclipse tomorrow afternoon. I went out this morning to take some practice shots of the sun and it just so happens that major sunspot AR 2192 is transiting the nearside of the solar disc. There are several other smaller sunspots visible. Click on the image to enlarge.
As for the eclipse, there are some details about it on NASA.
And more about this giant sunspot at SpaceWeather.com:
Earth-effects could increase in the days ahead. AR2192 has an unstable ‘beta-gamma-delta’ magnetic field that harbors energy for powerful explosions, and the active region is turning toward Earth. NOAA forecasters estimate at 65% chance of M-class flares and a 20% chance of X-flares during the next 24 hours.
Watch for some of our eclipse photos here after the event.
UPDATE: Sunspot 2192 has moved to the right and is in a position almost directly facing the Earth. Click here to view photo taken 23 Oct 14.
We don’t normally go out on the weekends, but today we had occasion to drive to the post office and then to deposit a check that came in the mail at the bank. We also did some shopping while we were in that end of town (Old Wickenburg).
As we drove through the old section, we noticed a lot of two-wheelers parked at the cafes downtown. We hear the bikes on the weekends from home, but rarely get to see some of the nice motorcycles in person. This bunch of bikers were enjoying some of the great Mexican food available at the only Mexican restaurant in old downtown. Click on the image to enlarge.
Signs of Second Spring have persisted for several weeks. Today, there were dozens of butterflies browsing the flowers on the sage, red birds and Rosemary. The nice thing about using Rosemary for ground cover along the RV drive, is that butterflies of all sizes, colors and descriptions are attracted to the tiny blue flowers.
I captured this photo of a yellow and gold butterfly lighting on a Rosemary just under the top of the little hill out back. Click on the image to enlarge.
We left Reno, NV, this morning only to return to California on US 395. Shortly after encountering beautiful Lake Topaz in Nevada, we drove through the agricultural check point that California maintains. The uniformed attendant asked where we were traveling from and just waved us through. (If it only were to check for legitimate US citizenship, it would be a great improvement, but that’s off-topic.)
The scenery along 395 along the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains through the Owens Valley is breathtaking. If you don’t happen to like the scenery, wait five minutes as you travel and it will change. Just moments before I photographed this rock outcropping on a mountain peak, we were in a forest of redwood trees and the road ran alongside a creek with considerable water flowing in it, whitewater in some places. Just after I took the photo, the road came to an overlook with majestic Mono Lake in the distance.
We left Santa Rosa this morning on our way to Reno. Instead of taking Interstate 80, we opted to go the scenic route up US 50 through the American River Canyon, through Lake Tahoe, Carson City and on to Reno.
I took a lot of pictures along the route all the way from wine country to the high desert of Nevada. I picked this one of the American River, North Fork to post this evening as we relax in our hotel. Tomorrow will present a lot of photo ops as we travel back into eastern California along US 395 to Bishop. Watch for more photos tomorrow. Click on the image to enlarge.
