Archive for 'Clouds'

Lysende nattskyer - Noctilucent clouds

Lysende nattskyer – Noctilucent clouds

Lysende nattskyer er noe som kun kan sees i sommermånedene, og bare rundt 50-70 grader nord og sør, men som likevel ikke er vanlige å se. Dette er skyer som er svært høyt til skyer å være – opptil 85 km høyde, og som derfor reflekterer sollyset når den er rett under horisonten og det […]

Noctilucent clouds over Oslo

Noctilucent clouds over Oslo

Such an amazing moment! Warm summer’s night, with a calm sea reflecting the wonderous sky. A few years ago the noctilucent clouds were frequent and extraordinarily intense, but they seem to be more infrequent and less intense. Yet this can be conincidental, as a summer dominated by low pressures and only short glimpses of clear […]

2016 Solar eclipse

2016 solar eclipse

This photo is right before the end of totality, and I remember how I was taken completely by surprise when the sun re-appeared – “is it over already?”, I thought – I ran like mad to my other camera to complete the shots there. A solar eclipse has once again lead me to a place […]

2016 solar eclipse

2016 solar eclipse

In this shot you can see something amazing that is only possible to see the few seconds before and after totality – when the sun is but a tiny point or line of light – shadow lines! You can see them as small lines in the lower half of the image where the sun is […]

Noctilucent clouds over Oslo

Noctilucent clouds over Oslo

Last summer was sunny and warm, and many of the nights were filled with these mysterious night-shining clouds. This summer has been a cool, cloudy and unstable one, with very few clear nights. This night has been the only one so far with a great display worth photographing, and also only the second display I’ve […]

Noctilucent clouds over Oslo

Noctilucent clouds over Oslo

The summer of 2014 has been the most incredible of all summers perhaps in a generation weather wise, but most of all noctilucent clouds wise. Clear skies almost every day and night in July, perhaps every 4 days I could see NLCs! An incredible summer I will remember for the rest of my life. I’ve […]

Noctilucent clouds over Oslo

Noctilucent clouds over Oslo

Yet another incredible outburst of noctilucent clouds, and still only the beginning of July! The timelapse spans 1500 exposures from 00:50-02:30. Weatherforecast is good, so hopefully several more displays to come. These wonderfully bright tendrils and swirls are only possible during the months of late May to beginning of August, but July is by far […]

Noctilucent clouds over Oslo

Noctilucent clouds over Oslo

I’ve been watching the sky every night so far this summer and only seen very vague hints of noctilucent clouds. Last year I did not see any at all. This time I didn’t have to walk outside to check, that’s how strong this display was. I was watching TV, and just glanced out of the […]

Noctilucent Clouds

Noctilucent Clouds

Every clear night I hope to see these wonderful clouds seen only during the short summer weeks. At 60 degrees north the sky is too bright in June, so if they are present they are only vaguely visible. In July the sky has darkened sufficiently for these super high clouds to really stand out and […]

Chalalan thundercloud

Chalalan thundercloud and time-lapse

The moon almost full, almost clear sky and stars visible in the moonlight and a growing thundercloud – all mixed in with a soundscape so loud and varied that I have decided to purchase a proper recording device so I can share it in the future. The moonlit nights are special in many ways, but […]

Noctilucent clouds

August brings noctilucent clouds

A summer with absolutely no noctilucent clouds in July! The few nights with clear skies passed with little sign of them. The other nights were more or less 100% cloudy. Now the dark nights are coming back, marking the near end of possible sightings. The weather forecast is good for the next few days, so […]

Noctilucent clouds

Noctilucent clouds

First night of August and the first noctilucent clouds of the summer – at least the first good ones! There have been some fine veils and wisps in between the clouds, but nothing close to this display. I also made a time-lapse video – see it in this post

Iridescent cloud

Iridescent clouds

Despite a very cold winter, there has been no nacreous clouds this winter. This is the only display that’s coming close. Alas, it’s not nacreous. The sun is down, they shine brightly, they are stationary, but are simply a bleak indication of true nacreous clouds. Last time was in 2008 and the extent and variety […]

Roraima thunderstorms

Roraima thunderstorms

The view from the camp site, or “hotel”, atop Roraima was awesome. I was well protected from the elements in the cave, and could watch nature in all it’s ways and never get wet or cold. The “entertainment” was spectacular this evening. Several cumulunimbus clouds produced lightning for what seemed forever. The altitude made the […]

Iridescent clouds

Iridescent clouds

This was the end of the first day of a week long trek to the top of Roraima, the highest (2723 m) table mountain (Tepui) in Venezuela, and what a start! The dry season should have started long ago, instead countless thunderstorms supplied plenty of rain showers and this particular cloud pushed a layer of […]

Noctilucent clouds

The best noctilucent show of the season?

Tonight’s Noctilucent cloud show was fast moving, bright and spectacular. Watching it is one thing, but a time-lapse of many hundreds of exposures is a totally different matter. By playing back as a movie you can see how the ripples and waves are moving, as well as how the NLCs are moving in a totally […]

Noctilucent clouds

A glimpse of noctilucent clouds

After more than a week of cloud cover, tonight started with a very bright and widespread display of NLCs. It was far south on the sky and ranged all the way to the northwest/northeast. Only a few times have I seen NLCs go further south than zenith. As the sky was clear I assumed it […]

Noctilucent clouds

First strong noctilucent clouds of the summer

Finally a strong display of NLCs! After a heavy thunderstorm the clouds slowly dissipated and revealed NLCs. They were mostly ripples this time – like sand in the shallow seas or the sand dunes of a desert. NLCs are really great as a photo, but simply awesome as a time-lapse.

Noctilucent clouds

First noctilucent clouds of the summer

First decent display of the season, but as it’s very close to the solstice the sky is very bright throughout the night and thus the NLCs are not as prominent as could be later in the summer.

Noctilucent clouds

Noctilucent clouds

Low-hanging in the northern sky is also a beautiful vista, but nothing compared to those nights where the clouds cover the sky all the way to zenith.

Noctilucent clouds

Noctilucent clouds

Yet another night with noctilucent clouds, albeit much dimmer than some of the other displays this summer.

Noctilucent clouds

Noctilucent clouds

Some summers might pass without a single display, while others are filled with night after night with intense shows. When the clouds are as strong as here, the dark of night is turned into a milkywhite twilight, as they brighten the sky as an enormous reflective layer all the way to sunrise. 00:47:58 01:06:35 02:12:26 […]

Nacreous clouds

Nacreous clouds

Yet another day of nacreous clouds!

Nacreous clouds

Nacreous clouds

Unknown why, this winter has seen an explosion of nacreous clouds, and this must be the strongest of them all! You never know if the sunset will reveal nacreous clouds, but the wind might indicate a possibility. Oslo lies east of the long north-south mountain range, and when the conditions are right the strong southwestern […]

Nacreous clouds

Nacreous clouds

I normally never bring my camera to work, but this winter has had such intense displays of nacreous clouds, that I did not take any chance as the western winds were strong today. This is from downtown Oslo (Mølla/Grunerløkka). Nacreous clouds are also called Mother of Pearl clouds.