Sunshine Robin by PK HyperFocal
PK captured this photo of an American robin soaking up the sun the other day. See more in their Feathers gallery on Flickr.
Much more about robins on Michigan in Pictures!
Sunshine Robin
City of Gold
City of Gold IX by Andrew McFarlane
OK here’s one of my pics of the frozen Lake Michigan shore of Leelanau County from back in January of 2009. I chose one with sun because I would like to see the sun! See more in my Frozen Shore gallery on Flickr and STAY WARM!!
An Ode to the Winter Solstice
An Ode to the Winter Solstice by Cherie
“Winter is not a season, it’s an occupation.” — Sinclair Lewis
Sorry Winter, that’s all I got for you today!! Here’s hoping everyone enjoys the shortest day of the year today. Cherie took this photo way back in 2008 but I still love it! More on her Flickr.
Crepuscular rays over Sunday Lake
Crepuscular rays over Sunday Lake by Michigan Nut Photography
The Atmospheric Optics page on crepuscular rays says:
Sun rays, also called crepuscular rays, streaming through gaps in clouds are parallel columns of sunlit air separated by darker cloud shadowed regions.
The rays appear to diverge because of perspective effects, like the parallel furrows of freshly ploughed fields or a road wide at your feet yet apparently narrowing with distance.
Airborne dust, inorganic salts, organic aerosols, small water droplets and the air molecules themselves scatter the sunlight and make the rays visible.
John took this photo at Sunday Lake in Wakefield. Follow him on Facebook & view and purchase his work at michigannutphotography.com.
Ring of Fire Eclipse on Thursday
Sunset during a partial solar eclipse by Diane
The naming of astronomical events has certainly gotten cooler in recent years, and Thursday morning’s “Ring of Fire” annular eclipse certainly reflects that trend! WOOD-TV explains that on June 10th Michiganders will be able to view this year’s first solar eclipse:
Unlike a total solar eclipse, which occurs when the moon passes directly between the Earth and the sun, causing the sun to be completely blocked, next week’s eclipse will be annular, which only occurs when the moon is in its first phase.
The new moon will be farther from Earth in its elliptical orbit and will appear smaller — too small to cover the sun completely. As a result, a bright ring of sunlight will surround the moon’s silhouette at mid-eclipse. That bright outer rim has become known as the “ring of fire.”
“As the pair rises higher in the sky, the silhouette of the Moon will gradually shift off the sun to the lower left, allowing more of the sun to show until the eclipse ends,” NASA said.
The new moon will eclipse the sun at 6:53 a.m. ET. on June 10.
Look east to see it, but remember it’s unsafe to look directly at the sun unless you wear special eclipse glasses to protect your eyes.
Diane took this photo way back in 2012. See more in her sunrise~sunset gallery on Flickr!
Sun Coming Home
Sun Coming Home by William Dolak
Bill writes that this path through the woods at Bishop’s Bog near Portage was always one of the summer sun’s favorites. See more great pics on his Facebook & in the Michigan in Pictures Group!
Celestial Dance on Center Stage Today
Binary Eclipse, photo by John A. Gessner Photography
You can check out yesterday’s Eclipse 2017 post for Michigan-specific eclipse times, suggestions and links to livestreams from the eclipse in case clouds get in your way. For all your general eclipse needs, NASA’s Eclipse 2017 website has you covered!
View the photo bigger, see more in John’s Michigan slideshow, and follow John Gessner Photography on Facebook.
Watching the August 21st solar eclipse in Michigan
The solar eclipse will be visible in Michigan on Monday, Aug 21, 2017 so in the interests of maximal eclipse enjoyment, I’m publishing this special Sunday Michigan in Pictures!
Solar Eclipse May 21st 2012, photo by John Kennedy
The brighter stars and the planets come out. Animals change their behavior. Birds and squirrels nest. Cows return to the barn. Crickets chirp. There is a noticeable drop in both light level and air temperature. It is an eerie feeling. Totality can last for no more than about seven and a half minutes but is usually less than three minutes long.
-National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Tomorrow is the day for the total eclipse, although in Michigan we will see only 70-80% of the sun eclipsed by the moon (less as you move northward) it’s still a rare opportunity. Here’s times for a range of Michigan locations:
- Munising – onset: 12:56 pm | max: 2:16 pm | end: 3:35 pm
- Marquette – onset: 12:54 pm | max: 2:15 pm | end: 3:34 pm
- Grand Rapids (and Traverse City) – onset: 12:58 pm | maximum: 2:22 pm | end: 3:43 pm
- Lansing (and Mackinac Island) – onset: 1:00 pm | max: 2:24pm| end: 3:35 pm
- Sault Ste Marie – onset: 1:00 pm | max: 2:20 pm | end: 3:37pm
- Detroit – onset: 1:03 pm | max: 2:27 pm | end: 3:47 pm
- Get the precise times and also the amount of the sun that will be eclipsed at Vox’s solar eclipse tool.
NASA’s Eclipse 2017 website is definitely the place to go for all of your eclipse watching & info needs. In addition to the NASA Goddard Instagram feed and an Eclipse 2017 Flickr group where you can share photos from the eclipse with people from all over, there’s…
- …information for how to watch the eclipse safely – because you can irrevocably damage your eyeballs! One way is to make a pinhole projector.
- …basic information on how the eclipse works.
- …all kinds of Livestreams to watch the eclipse.
- …all kinds of other things from Apps & Eclipse Activities to NASA’s coast to coast chase of the eclipse.
View the photo background bigtacular and see more in John’s Scenery slideshow.
Lazy Summer Day
Lazy Summer Day, photo by David Marvin
View the photo background bigilicious and see more in David’s slideshow.
More summer wallpaper on Michigan in Pictures.
An Ode to the Winter Solstice
An Ode to the Winter Solstice, photo by Cherie
EarthSky’s page on the winter solstice says:
The solstice happens at the same instant for all of us, everywhere on Earth. In 2016, the December solstice comes on December 21 at 5:44 a.m. EST. That’s on December 21 at 10:44 Universal Time. It’s when the sun on our sky’s dome reaches its farthest southward point for the year. At this solstice, the Northern Hemisphere has its shortest day and longest night of the year.
…At the December solstice, Earth is positioned in its orbit so that the sun stays below the north pole horizon. As seen from 23-and-a-half degrees south of the equator, at the imaginary line encircling the globe known as the Tropic of Capricorn, the sun shines directly overhead at noon. This is as far south as the sun ever gets. All locations south of the equator have day lengths greater than 12 hours at the December solstice. Meanwhile, all locations north of the equator have day lengths less than 12 hours.
For us on the northern part of Earth, the shortest day comes at the solstice. After the winter solstice, the days get longer, and the nights shorter. It’s a seasonal shift that nearly everyone notices.
View Cherie’s photo background big and see more in her Michigan can be a Winter Wonderland slideshow.
Michigan in Pictures 