Belt of Venus as seen early twilight - Photo taken from Potter's Marsh Parking lot - Anchorage, AK



I was showing a couple of my sunrise pix to one of the guys in the office here in Anchorage and he told me that the coloration of the sky that I captured in my photos was due to the Earth's shadow and the occurrence is commonly called The Belt of Venus.  I had never heard of that before so I thought it was worth researching.  Here's an excerpt from a website called "everything2.com that covers this phenom in more detail...

"The Belt of Venus is the term given to a band of usually pink or reddish pink color that stretches across the sky just above the dark blue band that hugs the horizon during twilight.  The sky above the belt is its normal blue hue but, due to the setting or rising sun,  the light reflected near the horizon takes on the reddish hue that most of the sky has when the sun is still visible for the first or last time during the day.

The Belt of Venus isn't an uncommon phenomenon.  Chances are you've seen it and probably never gave much thought about it. The Belt of Venus isn't visible during every twilight period, as the cloudier  the sky is, the less noticeable the belt will be. Clouds, especially near the horizon, alter the way in which light is reflected and prevent the belt from being formed.

The ideal situation for seeing the Belt of Venus is a clear but dusty sky during the twilight hours. The more dust present in the sky, the more light will be reflected. The belt can be seen best facing the opposite direction of the sun (face east at dusk and west at dawn).

The Belt of Venus has also been called the anti-twilight arch. The belt of dark blue-to-black coloration beneath the belt is known as the twilight wedge. The twilight wedge is the result of Earth's shadow created by the sun.

The Belt of Venus is presumably named such because it appears in the portion of the sky in which Venus would be visible during the morning and evening.

Sources:
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap011209.html
http://www.weather-photography.com/Atmospheric_Optics/venus_belt.html
http://www.weather-photography.com/Atmospheric_Optics/twilight_wedge.html
http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs.cmu.edu/user/zhuxj/www/astronomy/atmosphere/atmosphere.html#earthshadow
and many other webpages with the same information."

Helen Simeonoff

A couple of weeks before Christmas I attended the annual Christmas Bazaar at the Alaska Native Heritage Center http://www.alaskanative.net/   here in Anchorage.  It's a great place to visit to learn about Alaska's Native cultures.  There are informational displays, hand sewn early native clothing and artifacts, and a gift shop to die for! 

There are all types of scheduled events held at the center and the Christmas Bazaar is definitely one to check out!  Native vendors filled up all of the available space in the building, their tables brimming with beautiful beadery, hand made seal skin mittens and gloves, parkas with glorious fur, ivory carvings, native plant salves, soaps and herbs.  Jewelry was everywhere, and the art, it was so beautiful!

As I was cruising, I came across a table full of boxes of framed prints created by local artist Helen Simeonoff. Helen is Sugpiaq (Alutiiq) from Kodiak, AK.  As an artist and art major, I have a great deal of appreciation for someone who has chosen to be different especially if they have created a signature style.  Helen has mastered artistic style!

Her works are some of the most colorful, creative, beautiful watercolors that I have ever seen.  I really had a hard time choosing, but I left the Center with four and they added just the right touch here in my new home.  What I really enjoy is the way she used color.  It's as if the Aurora has come alive in her subjects as well as in the background.  And her depiction of animals is just incredible!

Please do yourself a favor and check out her website by clicking on this link and viewing all of her  collection.   http://alaskakodiakwatercolor.com/

Hoarfrost. Strange and beautiful!

I started noticing this interesting weather phenomena this week.  As I was driving to work in the dark, I kept seeing these glistening diamond-like crystals on the grass, trees, bushes, signs, etc.  As my truck lights caught them, they presented beautiful displays and flashes of sparkling light. 

By day, they appeared to have grown and throughout the week, they have continued to enlarge and cling to just about everything.  I asked one of the guys at work what was causing that effect was and he told me the crystals were called hoarfrost.


T. Neil Davis is a seismologist at the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and here's what he says about hoarfrost:

"In  late winter, intricate buildups of hoarfrost crystals have formed on all types of outdoor objects. 

Among winter's beauties are the intricate crystals--called hoarfrost--that form on branches, wires, poles and other objects. Hoarfrost is a sort of wintertime cousin to summer's dew and develops by similar processes.

Dew and hoarfrost accumulate on objects when there is more moisture in the air than the air can carry. Warm air carries in suspension more liquid water than does cold air.
The temperature at which the air is totally saturated is called the dew point. If the temperature of humid air is lowered until the humidity is 100%, then the dew point has been reached. Further cooling requires that the air lose part of its suspended water; the loss can come through rainfall, snowfall or the formation of dew or hoarfrost.

Curiously enough, pure water suspended in clean air remains in liquid form down to temperatures near -40°C (also -40°F). Below that temperature, the liquid droplets turn to ice--ice fog being a possible result. However, the normal ice fog known and loved in some northern cities comes from man made injection of water into cold still air.

If when air is cooled down it contains enough water to cause the dew point to be above freezing, then dew forms. But if the air is sufficiently dry that the dew point is below 0°C (32°F), then hoarfrost forms.

Hoarfrost consists of crystalline structures that grow from water vapor evaporated from liquid droplets suspended in air. Once hoar-frost crystals form, they can remain as long as conditions for their existence are favorable. But if the crystals or the air around them are warmed up, evaporation from the crystal surfaces leads to their demise. Hence in late winter the sun's warming rays will remove the hoar-frost from the south sides of objects.

Hoarfrost crystals are unique and quite beautiful.  It's worth it to look at them closely. They occur in an intricate variety of forms--needles, cups, plates, fern-like and feather-like--depending upon the temperature at which they developed." 

Saw the AK Pipeline

Yesterday I traveled to Fairbanks (It's becoming quite popular as a stop for other points in AK.) when we landed it was -2 degrees. 

We headed Southeast towards Delta Junction, Alaska about a two hour drive into the interior for a business meeting.

US Post Office - North Pole, AK

There were two things I was hoping that we would see along the way.  The first is North Pole, Alaska.  I'm not sure and I've tried to figure out where letters to Santa end up but it's hard to resist stopping and taking a picture of North Pole!  And yes, there is a "pole" that stands next to the highway and a huge Santa towers right next to it! 

The mayor wants you to..."Come visit North Pole!  And remember, Santa knows who’s been naughty or nice!" says Douglas W. Isaacson, who is the Mayor of North Pole.  Check out the city's
website, there's a bunch of interesting info there!  http://northpolealaska.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=77

We continued on towards Delta Junction and crossed the Tanana River at Big Delta Junction.  It's one of the places where you can see the Alaska Pipeline as it crosses the river and runs parallel to the road.



Stopped and took a pix of the Pipeline crossing the Tanana

The $8-billion Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, is one of history's most difficult engineering feats, and was the largest private construction project of its time.  When you reach Big Delta,  the Trans Alaska Pipeline Bridge holding the Pipeline is elevated 40 ft. above the Tanana River, this 1200-ft. bridge is the second longest on the route. (The longest crosses the Yukon River north of Fairbanks). In addition there is a good view of the Alaska Range to the south. Large parking area at east end of bridge.  You can clearly see the ice starting to build up in the Tanana River.  It won't be long with Winter temps around -30 that this river will be frozen solid. 

The 800-mile long Trans Alaska Pipeline System is one of the world's largest pipelines.  It starts in Prudhoe Bay on Alaska's North Slope and runs through some tough and beautiful terrain towards Valdez.  Since the Pipeline was put into place in 1977, there have been more than 16 barrels of oil transported through the pipeline.  It was an interesting thing for a Southern girl to see!

The Mooses are on the Looses!

Bull Moose

As a newcomer to Alaska I'm shocked at the commonality of moose encounters here in Anchorage and I am fascinated by the fact that a healthy moose population lives in the city along side of  261,446 people.  Don't get me wrong, we're talking about creatures that are on average 1200 lbs.  People here are used to seeing them around town, grazing on the side of the roads, crossing major 4-lanes and running out in front of their cars.  They're moose conditioned and I'm not...yet.

I was driving to Target this morning and had my first encounter with a large moose cow crossing the road right in front of me.  I hit the brakes and she crossed with no incident thank goodness.    I wasn't prepared or thinking I would see a moose because I was driving down a busy road in a heavily populated area.  I circled back to see if I could catch a picture of her as she meandered through yards and didn't see her.  I hooked back towards the main road and caught a glimpse of another cow lying down in someone's front yard.  It's common here and generally not a problem unless she has a calf.  That's when it gets naughty.  Mommies protect babies.  It's a natural thing.  You don't want to get between a moose cow and her calf or you're asking for trouble which I hate to say can lead and has lead to death for some people who were caught in a bad spot or were just unaware of the danger. 

Moose Cow in the city of Anchorage

Most of the time the moose are the ones who suffer ill fate.  In the city of Anchorage during the winter months, there are on average 130 moose deaths associated with vehicle encounters.  Most of the accidents occur at night and on slick roads.  Weather conditions often make it difficult to stop suddenly when you see a moose headed for your windshield.  Surprisingly there are few human fatalities associated with these accidents.  People here watch for moose and are on the lookout for crossings.  I'm just not there yet.  It's a shock for me to think about seeing a 1200 lb animal appear out of nowhere and run in front of my vehicle.  I'm used to the average squirrel, rabbit, deer, turkey or an occasional bear back in South Carolina on the road but seeing a moose is akin to having a Black Angus bull run in front of your car.  They are HUGE!
I love to see them and think it's just crazy the way they trot through town.   The hit TV show Northern Exposure that took place in a fictional city in Alaska often showed moose on the loose in the city.  The show aired between 1990 and 1995 with 110 episodes.  The depiction of the animals having full run of the city is true.  I love it and am doing my best to be aware and on the lookout for moose now that I'm in town.



Bull Moose in the back of the park

As I said, I was driving this morning to Target and just happened to glance back into a local park that borders a church and a heavily populated neighborhood.  As a hunter, my eye is trained to catch what's not "normal" in a woodland setting.  There resting in the middle of the park clearing was a large bull moose.  When you look at the first picture on this post, it appears that this fella is somewhere in the wild.  NOPE.  He was lying in the clearing of a city park in Anchorage off of Raspberry Road.  I drove my truck up on the sidewalk and watched him.  Here's the first photo I took.  Check out the houses behind the park and you can see how close he is to civilization. 

Bull Moose in the park off of Raspberry Road in Anchorage - there's a 4 lane right behind this guy.  He's wonderful!

I wanted to get a close up of this bull so I pulled into the church parking lot and got out of the truck and walked up the path into the park.  Calling this spot on earth a Park is really not what most people would expect.  Basically it's just a small patch of green space set aside for the neighborhoods.  This bull made it his home for his morning nap.  Trust me, he ruled the "park" as far as I was concerned.  I crept up the path towards this guy and got close enough to take a pix of him. To me he was beautiful!

What a wondrous thing to live close to nature and see what we see here in Alaska.  Animals have their place as do people.  Its just a way of life one that is unique and important. I'm in awe...

Rockn and Rollin - AK Earthquakes

Alaska Earthquake Information Center Current Quake Data

It's 1:30 PM as I write this on Saturday Oct. 23rd and there have been 36 recorded earthquakes that have taken place today since midnight.  Earthquakes are an everyday occurrence here in Alaska.  My first week here I was in Quiznos with one of the members of our company leadership team and the rumbling started and the building rocked and rolled and then there was a formidable jolt that felt like just like it does when you are coming to the end of an amusement ride.  I swear the table and the ground felt like it moved a foot and then came to a sudden stop.  Light fixtures were swinging and the rumbling noise stopped.  A week later there was another one that was again close to 5 on the Richter scale that took place at night and I slept through that one. 

It's funny, but I swear I feel a lot of slight vibration in the ground when I'm sitting at my computer and I've started writing down the times when I think I've felt an earthquake.  I've been on target several times.

I'm fascinated with the frequency of the tremors and activity and check the Alaska Earthquake Information Center site http://www.aeic.alaska.edu/recent/sub/index.html  a good bit just to see what's going on.  It's amazing how much activity takes place.  The site displays constant quake activity in chart and map form.  Take a look and see how we're rockin and rollin here in AK!

Here's the data so far for today...only through 1:30 PM Alaska time.

168 Earthquakes Shown on This Page:
Local Time	Magnitude	Region
12:46 PM AKDT Saturday October 23rd, 2010	Unknown	in the Fox Islands region of Alaska
12:43 PM AKDT Saturday October 23rd, 2010	Unknown	in the Yakutat Bay region of Alaska
12:41 PM AKDT Saturday October 23rd, 2010	2.74 ML	in the Yakutat Bay region of Alaska
12:40 PM AKDT Saturday October 23rd, 2010	Unknown	in the Yakutat Bay region of Alaska
11:41 AM AKDT Saturday October 23rd, 2010	Unknown	in the Kenai Peninsula region of Alaska
11:21 AM AKDT Saturday October 23rd, 2010	Unknown	in the central region of Alaska
10:51 AM AKDT Saturday October 23rd, 2010	1.74 ML	in the Prince William Sound region of Alaska
10:18 AM AKDT Saturday October 23rd, 2010	1.18 ML	in the central region of Alaska
10:14 AM AKDT Saturday October 23rd, 2010	Unknown	in the central region of Alaska
09:25 AM AKDT Saturday October 23rd, 2010	1.61 ML	in the Yakutat Bay region of Alaska
09:12 AM AKDT Saturday October 23rd, 2010	2.11 ML	in the Cook Inlet region of Alaska
09:07 AM AKDT Saturday October 23rd, 2010	1.81 ML	in the Kenai Peninsula region of Alaska
08:40 AM AKDT Saturday October 23rd, 2010	1.59 ML	in the central region of Alaska
08:19 AM AKDT Saturday October 23rd, 2010	1.07 ML	in the central region of Alaska
08:10 AM AKDT Saturday October 23rd, 2010	Unknown	in the Fox Islands region of Alaska
07:34 AM AKDT Saturday October 23rd, 2010	Unknown	in the central region of Alaska
06:58 AM AKDT Saturday October 23rd, 2010	1.74 ML	in the Cook Inlet region of Alaska
06:55 AM AKDT Saturday October 23rd, 2010	2.04 ML	in the central region of Alaska
06:16 AM AKDT Saturday October 23rd, 2010	Unknown	in the central region of Alaska
06:02 AM AKDT Saturday October 23rd, 2010	1.47 ML	in the Unimak Island region of Alaska
05:56 AM AKDT Saturday October 23rd, 2010	1.26 ML	in the central region of Alaska
05:53 AM AKDT Saturday October 23rd, 2010	Unknown	in the central region of Alaska
04:55 AM AKDT Saturday October 23rd, 2010	Unknown	in the central region of Alaska
04:47 AM AKDT Saturday October 23rd, 2010	1.49 ML	in the Yakutat Bay region of Alaska
04:34 AM AKDT Saturday October 23rd, 2010	1.42 ML	in the Yakutat Bay region of Alaska
04:13 AM AKDT Saturday October 23rd, 2010	1.32 ML	in the Prince William Sound region of Alaska
03:45 AM AKDT Saturday October 23rd, 2010	1.18 ML	in the central region of Alaska
03:20 AM AKDT Saturday October 23rd, 2010	1.42 ML	in the Yakutat Bay region of Alaska
03:14 AM AKDT Saturday October 23rd, 2010	Unknown	in the Alaska Peninsula region of Alaska
02:53 AM AKDT Saturday October 23rd, 2010	Unknown	in the Kodiak Island region of Alaska
02:50 AM AKDT Saturday October 23rd, 2010	Unknown	in the central region of Alaska
02:45 AM AKDT Saturday October 23rd, 2010	1.68 ML	in the Cook Inlet region of Alaska
02:03 AM AKDT Saturday October 23rd, 2010	1.68 ML	in the central region of Alaska
01:57 AM AKDT Saturday October 23rd, 2010	1.78 ML	in the Cook Inlet region of Alaska
01:37 AM AKDT Saturday October 23rd, 2010	1.56 ML	in the Cook Inlet region of Alaska
12:49 AM AKDT Saturday October 23rd, 2010	Unknown	in the Fox Islands region of Alaska

We're All Pulling Together!

My position here supporting what I'm calling the Great State of Alaska has given me a wonderful opportunity to fly to cities across the State and I had the pleasure to head back to Fairbanks a week ago.  It was obvious that the Winter season is coming and the decrease in daylight compared to three weeks ago was quite noticeable. Based on what they said on the local news, we are now loosing about 8 minutes per day of daylight.

Denali was just barely in view as a slight hint of light reflected off of the snow covered mountain as we flew past shortly after seven AM but none the less, it was just as breathtaking.

We touched down and taxied to our gate and as we pulled up, there was another Alaska Airlines plane pulling out next to us. 

Kudos to Alaska Airlines for the money and thought they put into choosing skins/paint jobs for some of their planes!  The plane was decorated from nose to tail with a wonderful scene of a musher driving a dog sled with a bear on it and one husky pulling the load.  The caption read "We're all pulling together!"

Click on the picture to open it for a full view of the image!

Its so true!  What I've found since I've been coming to Alaska on vacation and especially since I moved to Anchorage the statement on the plane epitomizes the fact that Alaska is a place where people pull together and work to support the community and their neighbors.  People smile and are kind.  They offer help and extend a hand and the majority are very thoughtful.  Lets face it.  You can get in a jam here real quick if you are not careful and are not prepared for certain situations.  If you don't have a buddy or can't call on a stranger you can die...alone.

Weather, animals and accidents on the trail or in the bush can take one out quickly if you're not experienced or properly prepared.  Everyone who has sense carries a survival bag in their trunk.  Guns are a means of protection in the bush and in Alaska you don't have to have a permit to carry a handgun.  Maybe that's why I don't hear sirens screaming in the night and have only seen two police cars in about two months total time of being here in AK.

People here are used to hard work, taking what they have or can get and making whatever it is work doing whatever they need for it to do. This mindset is bred from necessity. 

Let's think about it.  My personal vehicle (GMC Denali Pickup) was picked up in South Carolina on the 8th of October by a local towing company, a vehicle hauler picks it up from the tower's location and it was trucked to Seattle, loaded in a container and is being shipped by boat to Anchorage.  It's due to arrive the first week in November.  It's not easy to get stuff here.

Transit is long and expensive for things that people in the lower 48 take for granted.  There are people living above the Arctic Circle who are paying through the nose for heating oil, gasoline and food.  Bare necessities. 

Everything except what can be fished for, hunted or foraged has to be trucked or flown in to the state at a premium price.  What most don't know is that most of the fish and seafood caught commercially here in Alaska are shipped to Asia, packaged, and shipped back to the states for resale.  There's a lot of shipping, repackaging, freighting, trucking and flying stuff in and out. 

If you paid for something, and you can use it for something else it's worth stashing and if you need it, you save money by reusing it.  It's important to hold on to things that you may one need or could convert into another use.  It's an accepted way of life here. 

People in Alaska are strong and hardy.  They are the epitome of resourceful and they are willing to help someone who needs assistance when the time arises.  You have to pull your weight here but when you do people support each other and are ready to pull together...and that's Alaska!