Thursday, February 19, 2015

Beautiful Dawn Sky

It's still dark for the morning commute with sunrise around 8:30 but he color on the south eastern horizon is looking pretty nice. This is just a short video looking towards the horizon. While the eastern half of the country is seeing record low temperatures and mountains of snow, we have record warm temperatures. On Tuesday, it even ventured above 0°F for a bit.

On Tuesday evening, the aurora was practically horizon to horizon on my ride to the university to pick up my middle son. I don't think he likes riding in the sidecar no matter what the temperature. I did not have a camera so here is a photo featured in the Fairbanks Daily News Miner.

Dean Ojala Sr. captured this image of the Alaska Rail Road back hauling empty coal cars from Eielson Air Force Base with the northern lights in the background Feb 17, 2015, in the Chena flood control area.


20 comments:

  1. A horizon to horizon Aurora display, that must have been something inspiring.....as to your son not liking riding in the sidecar, my two boys no longer want rides with me either....I guess it's not cool anymore.

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    1. The display was pretty good, I haven't seen a good aurora display in quite a while. I don't think my son ever thought it was cool...

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    2. I remain in awe of the lighting your Hella H4 headlight provides, my aftermarket headlight is H4 but the reflector used by it is not as reflective as the Hella seems to be.

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    3. I'm surprised at how controlled the light is. It has a really sharp cutoff to prevent glare and is almost as good as the projector low beam on the Prius. Just about all of the light is on the road and not scattering around. Plus the snow on the road could make it look brighter.

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  2. That is a wonderful photo. Thanks for posting it.

    Pretty dawn light.

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    1. Pretty lazy of me to just use the GoPro instead of stopping to take a picture, eh?

      The picture in the News Miner was especially good, especially if you like trains...

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  3. Great photo. I really hope to visit Alaska someday.

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    1. It's a great trip as long as you allow enough time. At least a month, preferably longer.

      Thank you for stopping by and commenting!

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  4. Brilliant dawn light. I am glad that you continue posting vids even when the PBC is over.

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    1. The monopod is still attached to the sidecar rack so it's easy to slip the camera in.

      Not as motivated to post video of the same old thing.

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  5. While the dawn skies in the video are pretty, that train photo is really a sight to behold. Almost worth living in those temperatures......almost.

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    1. I thought that was a great photo of the aurora with the train. Of all of the places with a high probability of seeing aurora, Fairbanks is probably the most accessible.

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  6. Nice photos and vid! I like that you got the train with the Aurora - cool combo.

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  7. Nature is the greatest artist! I keep thinking we get cold here, but then I read your posts and now I think I'm just a whiner :)

    Don

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    1. This is my third winter riding but the first year with the Ural. With the right gear, it is a pleasant experience. But then again, I don't have a very long commute either.

      Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

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  8. Richard I admire that you get up and out on road, on a bike, in the frigid far north, at oh-dark-thirty, making a solid contribution to the Alaskan economy.

    The law of averages being what it is, I will gladly compensate here in Florida, as I plan to sleep in tomorrow morning.

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    1. I thought that "oh-dark-thirty" was something like 3 or 4 in the morning. The school buses have already been by by 7:15am. Have fun in Florida!

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  9. Glad you are still getting out there on the Ural and the temps are cooperating this winter. That was a spectacular photo from the Daily News. I wonder how long the photographer had to stand in the cold waiting for the train? Every once in awhile we get an Aurora display down here it is always amazing to see.

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    1. That was a great photo. There is an aurora forecast site so that helps those looking to take aurora pictures.

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