Happy Winter Solstice
©Bert Gildart: Happy Winter Solstice, and this year as so many probably know, it was an especially eventful one. For the first time in about 2,000 years winter solstice coincided with a total lunar eclipse.
Most living in my neck of the woods, meaning Montana’s Flathead Valley, probably didn’t get too excited about the phenomena as the skies here are so often overcast. Last night, December 20th, was no exception. The next time such events will be in sync will about 80 years down the line, meaning my grandchildren might well experience the two events simultaneously.
Northern lights, Arctic Village Alaska
The fact that I couldn’t see it, however, doesn’t mean I don’t get excited about solar events, as this image of northern lights takes several years ago in the Arctic might suggest. In Arctic Village, Alaska, located about 270 miles north of Fairbanks I made this image about 6 in the evening. By that time there is almost 24 hours of complete darkness, which isn’t surprising when you realize that this tiny village is about 150 miles above the Arctic Circle.
But I’m straying far afield. Actually all I set out to do was to wish everyone a Happy Winter Solstice. From this point on, the days will start getting longer, the main reason people originally began celebrating this day.
PHOTO NOTES:
For the photographer the image was made on a Nikon D-300, which withstood -30 temperatures. Exposure was about 30 seconds with an aperture of f-8. ISO was 200.
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