Fog in Northern Arizona

This Winter has been relentless with snowfall now at about 200% of normal for Flagstaff. Many of these storms have made it difficult to get to various locations for shooting photos of the weather. Fortunately, the last few storms have allowed me to do some pre-dawn travel to favorite locations.

The first two photos are from the morning of 16 March 2023 when I thought there was a good chance of low clouds and fog in Grand Canyon. In fact, there was too much fog and I was only able to briefly see into the canyon while at Lipan Point. I finally moved westward to Moran Point where there was a larger break in the fog allowing sunlight to illuminate the canyon.

Early morning fog in Grand Canyon from Lipan Point.
Early morning fog in Grand Canyon from Lipan Point.
Early morning fog in Grand Canyon from Moran Point.
Early morning fog in Grand Canyon from Moran Point.

A week later we had a snow-turning-to-rain event that left the roads relatively easy to travel and I ventured out to Mormon Lake on the morning of 23 March 2023. The abundance of moisture over the previous few days resulted in lots of fog in low-lying basins including Lake Mary and Mormon Lake. Clear skies to the east allowed the rising sun to illuminate the San Francisco Peaks in the distance.

The distant San Francisco Peaks rise above fog filling Mormon Lake basin.
The distant San Francisco Peaks rise above fog filling Mormon Lake basin.
Fog fills Mormon Lake Basin. A faint Glory is seen left of center while a short segment of a fogbow is right of center.
Fog fills Mormon Lake Basin. A faint Glory is seen left of center while a short segment of a fogbow is right of center.
A fogbow along Upper Lake Mary.
A fogbow along Upper Lake Mary.

I was also interested in capturing images with a Glory/Brocken Spectre and fogbows. Both were faintly visible in some of the photos where I was above the fog. A better fogbow photo was shot when I was in the fog.

And here is a time-lapse video of the swirling fog in the Mormon Lake basin.

Time-lapse video of fog swirling in Mormon Lake basin.

The medium-range forecasts indicate that Winter is not yet done.

Planets in the Evening Sky

The evening sky has provided opportunities in February and early March to view several planets grouped together. In mid February there was an alignment of four planets and one asteroid: Venus, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, and Vesta. Only two of these were visible with the unaided eye but even a short exposure on a camera showed the other three objects. Okay…some of them were still hard to see.

The evening sky with four planets and an asteroid: Venus, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, and Vesta (19 February 2023).
The evening sky with four planets and an asteroid: Venus, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, and Vesta (19 February 2023).
Zodiacal Light and airglow.
Zodiacal Light and airglow.

A short time later the Zodiacal Light became prominent along with some faint airglow bands near the horizon.

Venus and Jupiter in the evening twilight sky.
Venus and Jupiter in the evening twilight sky.
Venus and Jupiter in the evening twilight sky. A waxing Moon illuminated both the foreground meadow and the peaks in the distance.
Venus and Jupiter in the evening twilight sky. A waxing Moon illuminated both the foreground meadow and the peaks in the distance.

In early March the planets Venus and Jupiter were very near each other in the evening sky. Cloudy skies prevented me from getting photographs at their closest approach but a few days later I was able to capture these images from Bonito Park near Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument.

 

 

Crane Petroglyph Site at V Bar V Ranch

We visited the Crane Petroglyph Site at V Bar V Ranch over the weekend. We were fortunate that the volunteer docent on site that day was local expert Ken Zoll who discovered that the thousand-year old site was a solar calendar that marked ancestral Puebloan planting and harvesting cycles.

Petroglyph panel at Crane Petroglyph Site at V Bar V Ranch.
Petroglyph panel at Crane Petroglyph Site at V Bar V Ranch.
The panel depicting cranes at Crane Petroglyph Site at V Bar V Ranch.
The panel depicting cranes at Crane Petroglyph Site at V Bar V Ranch.

More information about the site and Ken Zole can be found in the article at Green Living Magazine.

Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF)–A Final Image

Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is moving away from us and has dimmed considerably in the past month. Here is the last good image I got of the comet as it passed through the constellation Taurus and near the bright star Aldebaran (the “eye of the bull“). The star cluster to the right of the comet is the Hyades.

Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) with the Hyades star cluster and the red star Aldebaran (15 February 2023).
Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) with the Hyades star cluster and the red star Aldebaran (15 February 2023).