-
The Lower Tangent Arc
On July 31, 2021, I had the rare opportunity to see an optical halo feature known as a Lower Tangent Arc. I was able to take two snapshots. What makes this lower arc special is that it only appears when the bottom of the halo is both visible and positioned below the celestial horizon. This…
-
Kentucky Auroras from 30,000 ft
During a geomagnetic storm rated G5 extreme by NOAA, I was able to capture photos of the aurora borealis. From 11 May 02:05 UTC through 02:55 UTC, a variety of colors, swirls, streaks, and faint glows danced across the sky over Kentucky.
-
Name This Optical Phenomenon
Earlier this month, I observed a sunset that I couldn’t quite explain. While an occasional solar halo or a pair of sun dogs are known to entertain us pilots at higher altitudes, this wasn’t one of those. This sunset was accompanied by two perfectly vertical rainbow-colored columns of light. The best photo I took was…
-
Flight Themes in the Four Realms
For a pop culture moment, let’s consider the mysterious flight elements of Disney’s movie from last winter, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. I say “mysterious” because there are some hidden clues as to why several flight-related themes appear, mostly very subtle, throughout the movie. For the most part, there is no clear metaphor, no…