Spectre of the Brocken

I do love my job. Flying has been a passion of mine since I can remember. Although the political crap that goes along with any job can ruin things, actually going out and doing my job makes it worthwhile.


This photo illustrates several atmospheric phenomena--the Spectre of the Brocken, a glory, and heiligenschein (holy light.) I took this one early morning descending into Lander, WY. I'd noticed this opportunity "leading" us and was lucky enough to have my camera out and ready.





The Spectre is simply your shadow projected on the cloud below. The glory, which is the rainbow, are always directly opposite the sun, centered at the antisolar point and therefore below the horizon except at sunrise and sunset. They are formed when light is scattered backwards by individual water droplets. Heiligenschein, or holy light, is the bright glow in the very center. The glow is centered on the antisolar point--so if you look closely you can tell (by looking at the very center of the glow) that I was sitting in the right seat. That particular day I was training one of our First Officers to be a Captain--so he was flying left seat.


This photo is the only one I've had published so far--in Tim Herd's Kaleidoscope Sky --thanks, Mr. Herd! It's a very interesting and informative book on atmospheric phenomena....

Frogs

A couple of months ago I went to a friend's house for a party. He has several vivariums with Poison Dart Frogs (PDF's.) I caught the fever. Here are a couple of photos I took of his frogs.

This, of course, inspired me to start building my own vivarium. It took a lot of research and a bit of time--but I finally completed my first. I used a 20 gallon high aquarium and incorporated a water feature. It will take a couple of months to grow in, and I've added a few plants since this photo was taken. The frogs are next--after the grow in and after I've mastered fruit fly cultures to make sure I can feed them. Once I'm comfortable with this initial effort I have a 55 gallon tank I'll be converting.

I'm still trying to master taking shots of it--the lighting is difficult. That was taken about a month ago---it looks much better now--especially since I put some moss that I found in it. Ironically, I found this fantastic moss in the most unlikely place---right outside of our hangar. In the summer this spot is hot and dry and, as far as I know, the most inhospitable place for moss to grow. Yet it does, and so I must transfer it to a new home....

As an aside, once I build the 55 gallon it will be on to the next project--a paludarium. These photos, from The Aquarium Design Group inspired me too....