Time passing

Welcome to winter and the change of the clocks!  It happened today here in the US (Swedes are ahead of us as usual, they changed their clocks a while ago).  Back to normal Eastern Standard Time for us now, no more Daylight Savings time (which is called Summer Time, 'sommartid', in Swedish).

The amazing hybrid solar eclipse (Nov 3, 2014) we had planned to watch this morning was hidden by a large could bank.  Oh well.  Somewhere behind those clouds were a partially visible sun.  We will have to wait to 2014 for another solar eclipse. There is some photos and info here of this rare event.

And, sad memories and news - it is 50 years since developers in New York City crushed the old, beautiful Penn Station and built a mega-ugly box on top of it.  Penn Station now are horrible cramped tunnels below Madison Square Garden.  Look at the photos of what once was here... At least Grand Central Terminal is still standing in New York, and Penn Stations are left in Baltimore and Philadelphia.  If you wonder about the names - Penn Station comes from the old Pennsylvania Railroad, and Grand Central was the railroad station for the rival New York Central Railroad.  Union Station in Washington, DC, had several railroads, that is why it was called 'Union'.  (PP can correct me if I am wrong :)

Sunsets around the world

Tonight, while driving to pick up LA, there was a golden-red sunset in the west.  One of those that we described in Swedish as 'the sky is on fire" (himmelen står i brand). It made me think of other amazing sunsets I have seen around the world, and how amazing it is that a fireball far away affects our colors and emotions so much.  So, here is a trip around the world in sunsets:

 
Brazil, near Itaiaia National Park, between Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, sunset on thunderclouds in the rainforest.


Costa Rica, over Palo Verde marshlands in early spring.


Sunset over Stockholm in September, Sweden (of course)


Chicago sunset, in Illinois, USA, out on Lake Michigan. A hot day in August.


Sourland Mountains, New Jersey, USA, with oaks and ash trees in the foreground.  Home. 

Sunrise over Norway in winter

Sunrise over Norway in winter, originally uploaded by Vilseskogen.

Norway looked very cold and very wintry when I flew home to USA in January. The sun is just rising and hitting the highest peaks of the mountains of Hardangervidda and the fjords stretching their fingers into the mountains.

Winter days in Sweden

I am back from my quick trip to Sweden and its wintery glory.  Due to pure weathery luck, I was there when it was cold (mostly minus 15 Celsius), very clear skies (blue in the day, starry at night), and with plenty of snow (white, white and blue at dusk and dawn). The 'blue hour' is so strong here, it is a real phenomenon. Just look at the photos! :) The high humidity led to lots of hoary frost ('rimfrost') on every tree, grass, and  surface. It was simply gorgeous.  This is how it looked like:


A Swedish winter road.  They put salt on the big roads and highways, but not on the smaller roads.


A plowed winter road.  Nearly everybody has dubbed tires, unless you live in a city.This is how blue it is, this photo is not photoshopped in any way.  Around 2.30-3 in the afternoon in January.  The sun is still up, but with long, long shadows, and it doesn't reach into the forest.


Hoary frost (rimfrost) on branches.


Snow, frost and open water at Ekeby wetlands, the largest artifically made wetlands in northern Europe.  It is a haven for birds and birdwatchers.


Do you see the fox?  He or she was sleeping on the ice, in the morning sun. This is also at Ekeby.


Ice on ice and water in ditch. You can see the area where the water is freezing on the surface...


These ice crystals on the ice were about 2-3 cm big (about an inch).


The ducks were freezing.


Frozen rose hips. These are edible and the Swedes make 'nyponsoppa' from them.


The Eskilstuna River was nearly frozen over. And the sun, even if bright, doesn't get very high over the horizon.  This was about 11.30 AM.

Columbia River Sunset

Columbia River Sunset, originally uploaded by ericwill.

Another fantastic train photo from Eric. This is from Oregon, USA.

It is a gloomy, rainy day in New Jersey...

the sea (Skagerack, North Sea, the Atlantic), originally uploaded by Vilseskogen.

....but when I close my eye I see the sun sparkles on the sea in Sweden during a sunny April spring day...

Fascinating sunrays

Tangled up Active Region [hd video], originally uploaded by NASA Goddard Photo and Video.

Check out this video posted by NASA on Flickr. Isn't it amazing?