Kevin Palmer

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  • Crepuscular rays emerge from a cloud as the sun sets beyond Tongue River Canyon. This was the view from the top of Steamboat Point.
    Tongue Canyon Sunbeams
  • The last light of the day illuminates McDonald Peak as seen from St. Ignatius, Montana. At 9,820 feet, it is the highest peak in the Mission Mountains. The summit contains a grizzly bear protection area that is closed to hikers every summer.
    McDonald Peak
  • A vivid alpenglow shines on the mountains on the other side of the frozen lake Torneträsk in Swedish Lapland. Lingering snow showers were swirling around the highest peaks. The native Sami people recognize 8 seasons here instead of 4, and "spring-winter" occurs in March and April. The snow hasn't started melting yet, but temperatures do moderate a bit when the sun returns after being absent for over a month. The hours of daylight increase significantly from day to day as the nights grow ever shorter. In early April the sky no longer gets completely dark (marking the end of aurora season) and by the latter part of May the sun will stay up 24/7. Spring-winter is the favorite season of many residents since it's the best time of year for skiing, snowmobiling, and dog sledding.
    Altastjarro Sunset
  • The constellation Orion hangs above the snowy peaks of the Bighorn Mountains on a cold and windy night. The diffuse glow on the right is called the zodiacal light. This glow can only be seen where the skies are very dark, any light pollution will drown it out. The zodiacal light is caused by the sun reflecting off of grains of dust shed by comets and asteroids in the inner solar system. This dust is concentrated along the zodiac (also known as ecliptic), which is the orbital plane that the sun, moon, and planets travel in our sky. The planet Mars can be seen touching a cloud at the bottom of the glow. Because of the angle of the ecliptic, this phenomena is best seen in the west after dusk in the spring, or in the east before dawn in the fall.
    Glow of the Zodiac
  • Hooting owls cut through the frosty air. A quiet gurgling sound came from the open water on the Tongue River. Sudden snaps, cracks, and pops disturbed the stillness as river ice shifted. After staring at nothing for an hour, finally my eyes could see what my camera had already detected: a noticeable glow to the north. It could be mistaken for light pollution, except there were no cities in that direction. Slowly the glow increased in brightness before it broke out into a substorm. Pillars rose up from the horizon and drifted from right to left. In the past I’ve not had much success aurora hunting in the middle of winter. But there’s a first time for everything.
    Long January Night
  • Reports were coming in from across Europe on Sunday. The northern lights were sighted far to the south in places like Italy and Turkey for the first time in 20 years. Unfortunately the timing of the geomagnetic storm was all wrong for North America. Even with Daylight Saving Time ending, darkness could not come soon enough. By nightfall in Wyoming the magnetic field of the solar wind had flipped northward, which cancels out the aurora. But conditions can change quickly so I went out somewhere dark anyway. Lingering energy in Earth’s magnetic field caused a rare SAR (stable auroral red) arc to glow overhead. This was caught on camera even in the southern US, though it was largely invisible to the eye. At 9pm the solar wind briefly became favorable again. Watermelon-colored aurora pillars quickly rose up into the northern sky.
    Sudden Red
  • The last climbers repelled down the south face of Devils Tower soon after twilight faded. First Perseus rose to the northeast, followed by Arcturus, the 4th brightest star in the sky. Satellites slowly came and went while meteors vaporized at a much faster speed. The aurora painted its colors on an invisible canvas,  undetectable to my eye for the most part. One glow soon replaced another when the crescent moon rose at midnight. In many previous visits I’ve scouted all over the national monument looking for the best vantage points. This patch of prairie that I marked on my map is barely within the park boundary. Dodging deadfall, making my way across a steep slope and up and over a cliff is hard enough during the day, doubly so at night. I kept waiting for a big aurora display to give me a reason to come back here. That never happened, despite the forecast. But even an ordinary night is worth experiencing at an extraordinary place like this. Those who only visit Devils Tower during the day miss out on half the scenery.
    More Than a Meteor
  • Hunting for the aurora from the mid-latitudes can be a frustrating endeavor. For every night that I've clearly seen the northern lights, there are 2 more where I've gone out only to see the aurora quickly fade or clouds overtake the sky. But perfect nights like this one make it all worth it. After NOAA issued a geomagnetic storm warning, I headed for the Bighorn Mountains. The aurora was obvious as soon as I stepped out of my car. But it was just a green glow without any structure or movement. At 12:30AM, the lights began to grow brighter. Pillars topped with purple and red suddenly rose up and moved rapidly back and forth. This is called a substorm. Charged particles in the solar wind causes pressure to build up against Earth's magnetic field. The magnetic field will suddenly 'snap' and the release of energy makes the aurora intensify. Substorms are unpredictable and often last only minutes. In this frame I caught a Lyrid meteor burning up above Steamboat Point.
    Dawn of the North
  • Darkness could not come soon enough. Reports of the northern lights were coming in from across the eastern US. Standing on a cliff nearly 1,000 feet above Meadowlark Lake, this was a spot I’d been wanting to spend the night for a long time. The highest peaks of the Bighorn Mountains stood to the north, including Cloud Peak dead center. Aurora chasing mostly involves a whole lot of waiting. Waiting for the right space weather forecast, clear skies, moon phase, and for the sun to go down. Even when conditions seem perfect the aurora can come and go at the drop of a hat. When darkness arrived, so did the clouds, along with a brief rain shower. When the clouds faded, so did the northern lights. But finally just before 1AM the glow returned. A substorm sent red and purple pillars halfway to the North Star, reflected in the water far below. It did not last long before the moon rose and drowned out the lights. Even though the display wasn’t as good as it could have been, moments like this are always worth staying up for.
    Midnight at Meadowlark
  • Half-awake at 3AM I wandered the banks of the Tongue River in southern Montana. Fog drifted across the water like it was alive, slowing down, speeding up, and stopping. Every tree and bush shifted to an unfamiliar shape. Each breath I took added to the moisture in the air. All evening long the 75% moon hid the secrets of the night sky. Faint colors and dim stars were all drowned out by the bright, inescapable light source. But when the moon set and the fog appeared, it was a different world. The aurora glowed gently to the north while stars I haven’t seen in half a year rose to the east.
    River of Fog
  • There is a lot happening at the local pond at 2AM. This image shows the stars apparent movement in 45 minutes time. The aurora glowed to the north in hues of red and green. Meteors burned up in the atmosphere. Satellites and airplanes  flew past. It was far from quiet with flapping waterfowl, croaking frogs, and a splashing beaver. Startrail reflections are like mini seismographs, recording ripples in the water. With no wind, all the disturbances are from the beaver splashing.
    Beaver Pond Startrails
  • A red and green aurora glows above the boreal forest of northern Canada in the fall.
    Night In the Boreal Forest
  • The aurora glows red and green above Bear Butte, South Dakota, on a cold winter night.
    Bear Butte Prairie Aurora
  • Soon after the aurora intensified, fog settled in to the frozen Fremont Lake. It felt like I was in a dream as halos surrounded Venus and the moon to the west while intense pinks and reds glowed to the north.
    In a Dream
  • I don't think I've ever seen the zodiacal light glow this prominently before. As soon as it became dark enough it jumped out at me right away. The ghostly glow is caused by the sun illuminating dust within our solar system. The glow extends diagonally along the path of the ecliptic, also known as the zodiac. Only under very dark skies like this spot near St Xavier, Montana, are views like this possible.
    Bighorn River Zodiacal Light
  • The last sunrise of 2016 covers the Teton Mountains in a golden glow while strong winds gust around the peaks. This is a 100 megapixel panorama and is suitable for large prints.
    Last First Light
  • I've noticed that the month of November brings some of the most colorful sunsets. This evening was no exception. On the edge of Sheridan with the Bighorn Mountain in the distance, this cloud deck lit up with a fiery orange glow.
    Mountain Wave Sunset
  • A distant lightning storm moves south past the Badlands in South Dakota. The red sky in the west was casting a soft glow on the tops of the cliffs. This was a typical late summer evening when a thunderstorm formed over the Black Hills and moved out across the plains.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: August 7, 2013
    Stormy Badlands
  • While camping at Castle Gardens, I captured the stars for 2 hours to put together into this startrail image. A campfire cast a warm glow on the bluffs and hoodoos above.
    Castle Aglow
  • The Tetons glow in the light of sunrise on a frosty morning while the Snake River flows quietly below. It is this exact view that I used to create my logo/watermark. One of the reasons the Tetons are so majestic is because this range has no foothills. The mountains rise abruptly 7,000 feet above the valley floor in only about 3 miles. On long winter nights cold air tends to slide down the steep slopes and becomes trapped under an inversion layer in the Jackson Hole Valley. With the Tetons to the west, Absarokas to the north, and the Gros Ventre mountains to the east, the air has nowhere to go. This leads to some seriously cold temperatures. In the last month alone it has reached -20°F or colder on 7 mornings. In 1933 the temperature here dropped to a bone-chilling -66°F, making it among the coldest temperatures ever measured in the US outside of Alaska.
    Winter Teton Sunrise
  • On my last morning in Anza Borrego Desert State Park, I drove to Fonts Point to shoot the sunrise. To get here you have to drive up a dry wash while avoiding the sandy areas. The colors were amazing, even 45 minutes before the sun rose, the clouds in the east were lit up with an intense red glow. The clouds are reflected in the Salton Sea, California's largest lake. The lake was created in 1905 when engineers accidentally diverted the flow of the entire Colorado River for 2 years.
    Sliver of Gold
  • On my last morning in Anza Borrego Desert State Park, I drove to Fonts Point to shoot the sunrise. To get here you have to drive up a dry wash while avoiding the sandy areas. The colors were amazing, even 45 minutes before the sun rose, the clouds in the east were lit up with an intense red glow. The Borrego Badlands look similar to those found in South Dakota.
    Fonts Point Sunrise
  • On my last morning in Anza Borrego Desert State Park, I drove to Fonts Point to shoot the sunrise. To get here you have to drive up a dry wash while avoiding the sandy areas. The colors were amazing, even 45 minutes before the sun rose, the clouds in the east were lit up with an intense red glow. The clouds are reflected in the Salton Sea, California's largest lake. The lake was created in 1905 when engineers accidentally diverted the flow of the entire Colorado River for 2 years.
    Salton Sunrise
  • On the empty Wyoming prairie near the town of Bill, I watched this cell slowly approach. It went through cycles, weakening and strengthening before sunlight emerged through the rain and hail. Downdraft winds blew precipitation outward near the ground to form a rain foot. With everything bathed in a golden glow, the sky became a painting. It was an unusual perspective, being able to see the entire updraft towering 9 miles high from so close. Only my widest lens would do. Keeping up with the storm was no longer an option as there were no viable roads headed east. But I was content to just sit there and watch it go.
    Upward Updraft
  • The departing sun casts a golden glow on the forests and grasslands in the Custer National Forest. This view is from Poker Jim Butte.
    Bathed In Light
  • The first light of sunrise paints the top of the badlands with a brilliant orange glow. Located in western South Dakota on the edge of the Great Plains, this harsh landscape is home to bison, bighorn sheep, pronghorn antelope, prairie dogs, and other wildlife. By definition badlands are semiarid regions with sparse vegetation that experience high rates of erosion. Even though there are other places in the western US and throughout the world known as badlands, the term originated here in Badlands National Park. This is a special place, but unfortunately the person who decided to use it as a landfill didn't think so. When I peered into this steep ravine I spotted a couch that someone had rolled to the bottom.
    Badlands First Light
  • A distant lightning storm moves south past the Badlands National Park. The red sky in the west was casting a soft glow on the tops of the cliffs. The black dots in the center are turkey vultures.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: August 7, 2013
    Badlands Lightning
  • Grand Teton glows in the early morning sunlight as seen from the Snake River Overlook. The Tetons are never more beautiful than at sunrise, especially in the winter.
    A Grand Morning
  • Abiathar Peak glows shortly before sunset during a brief break in the snow. Snowflakes were in the air almost the entire time I was in Yellowstone National Park. Some of the best views in Yellowstone are found here in the remote northeast corner of the park. On the other side of the mountain is the small town of Cooke City, the highest in the Northern Rockies. It's hard to find a more isolated town in the winter. The closest city with more than 1,000 people is 110 miles away with a 2.5 hour drive. That doesn't include the frequent delays caused by herds of bison, who often travel on the road to conserve energy and avoid the deep snow in the Lamar Valley
    Abiathar Aglow
  • The zodiacal light glowed in the west after sunset before the moon rose. The view was from my campsite in the McCullough Peaks Badlands and the lights are from the edge of Cody.
    Between the Lights
  • I was just about to leave the Devil Canyon Overlook because I thought the sunset was over. But then the sky suddenly started glowing to the west, and I shot this panorama.
    Bighorn Canyon Glow
  • From the first time I glimpsed Devils Tower 7 years ago I’ve been dreaming of this picture. Countless visits to this iconic monolith were all badly timed for catching the aurora. But since then I’ve explored almost every acre of the park to figure out exactly where to go when the moment was right. That right moment happened on April 23rd. Two days earlier the sun hurled a massive explosion directly towards Earth at more than a million mph. When it arrived it caused the strongest geomagnetic storm since 2005. My widest lens, which covers a field of view of 115°, was not nearly wide enough. The entire sky pulsed in green waves like lightning. The raw intensity was humbling. I could see the ground by the light of the aurora alone. Since the ice recently melted, I headed for the Belle Fourche River. The water level on the shallow waterway was high enough to provide a perfect reflection. Because it's still the off-season, the park was much quieter with less stray light compared to the summer. I don’t know how many hours of sleep I’ve lost through the years chasing this shot. But it all feels worth it now.
    Monumental Mirror
  • Sitting isolated on the prairie of far northern Montana is a former US Air Force base. At the height of the Cold War it was home to 7,000 residents. But since being decommissioned in 1976, almost every house has sat empty and neglected. Most ghost towns consist of a handful of old buildings. But this one is different because the houses are modern enough to belong in just about any town. And there are hundreds of dilapidated homes lining street after street. The harsh climate has taken its toll on these structures. Like something out of a movie set, it was a spooky place to wander around at midnight. That was when the northern lights were at their brightest. Between passing clouds deep reds and greens shined through.
    Abandoned House Aurora
  • If you have never seen the aurora, you should definitely make it a goal. This was a once in a lifetime show for me as I have never seen a better geomagnetic storm. I was only in Wisconsin but it felt like I was in Alaska. The aurora was pulsating, moving rapidly and it covered much of the sky. Most of my pictures were taken with a 10mm lens which tells you just how much of the sky was filled with color. This was taken from the top of Blue Mound, which is the highest point in southern Wisconsin.
    Rising Intensity
  • If you have never seen the aurora, you should definitely make it a goal. This was a once in a lifetime show for me as I have never seen a better geomagnetic storm. I was only in Wisconsin but it felt like I was in Alaska. The aurora was pulsating, moving rapidly and it covered much of the sky. Most of my pictures were taken with a 10mm lens which tells you just how much of the sky was filled with color. This was taken from the top of Blue Mound, which is the highest point in southern Wisconsin.
    Once in a Lifetime
  • An extremely rare aurora corona is seen over a red rock formation at Devils Tower. This view was looking south.
    Red Rock Corona
  • The haunting call of the loon echoed across Madeline Lake, while bright aurora swirls were reflected in the water.
    While the Loon Echoes
  • After midnight the sky once again exploded into a bright red aurora. This view is from Fremont Lake near Pinedale.
    Fremont Overlook Aurora
  • Having already captured the aurora from most of the highway overlooks in the Bighorn Mountains, Sibley Lake was my destination. I didn't know what I'd find when I got there. Snow still blocked part of the road, so I walked the rest of the way to the shoreline. Most of the ice was gone, leaving a near-perfect mirror in its place. In the hour that I sat there, newly formed ice slowly spread across this cove. While the creek gurgled and owls hooted, meteors periodically shot between the stars.
    Sibley Lake Aurora
  • By 2AM most visitors had left the park. Coyotes quieted down as the temperature fell into the mid 20’s and frost appeared on the grass. Clouds were still keeping their distance. The moon had set hours ago. The northern lights had dimmed since their peak at 10pm. But the night was not over. In the southeast the core of the Milky Way galaxy was just peeking over the horizon. It formed a huge band that arced to the northeast, where it was drowned out by the gently pulsing green and red aurora. With fresh batteries in my headlamp, I climbed up to a cliff marked on my map. From this viewpoint I could capture the entire scene in a panorama, with Devils Tower in the middle. Below could be seen the meandering Belle Fourche River with the Bear Lodge Mountains beyond. The Milky Way first returned from its winter slumber a couple months ago. But I like to wait until this time of year to see it because it’s easier to stay up. These rare views are the reason I will always be a night owl.
    Aurora Tower and Galaxy
  • If you have never seen the aurora, you should definitely make it a goal. This was a once in a lifetime show for me as I have never seen a better geomagnetic storm. I was only in Wisconsin but it felt like I was in Alaska. The aurora was pulsating, moving rapidly and it covered much of the sky. Most of my pictures were taken with a 10mm lens which tells you just how much of the sky was filled with color. This was taken from the top of Blue Mound, which is the highest point in southern Wisconsin.
    Full Spectrum
  • Halfway up Bear Butte Mountain, a bright green aurora fills the sky over the surrounding prairie.
    Bear Butte Cliff Aurora
  • Before midnight I climbed up to a cliff to get closer to Devils Tower. Even though the aurora was weaker now, it was still a phenomenal view.
    Minutes to Midnight
  • It's fascinating watching the aurora tangle itself like a rope straight above my head. But looking up so much sometimes leads to a sore neck.
    Tangled Aurora
  • The aurora was dead when it first became dark. But then a very faint display of red pillars rose up. At the same time I caught this lucky Orionid meteor.
    Flat Lake Aurora
  • After the northern lights began to fade and the clouds cleared, a strange wave pattern became visible in the sky. This is airglow, a chemical reaction that occurs at the same altitude as the aurora, but it's a separate process. This night was the only time I've ever seen it with the naked eye. I'm pretty sure it was caused by gravity waves from powerful severe thunderstorms that impacted Illinois earlier in the evening.
    Gravity Waves
  • It was a dark night deep in the boreal forest, on the edge of the Arctic. Two rivers flowed, one of water, and one of light. While sitting on bedrock of the Canadian Shield, sudden chills enveloped me, caused by a misty fog that I could not see. As a rule before I go on a night hike I try to scout during the day first and record a GPS track to follow later. This was especially important in the Northwest Territories where trails are often poorly marked. After checking out 2 waterfalls I preferred this one. Lower than normal water levels made it possible to stand in the middle of the Cameron River. The only problem was the view faced east. But at this high latitude directions don't matter as much and the northern lights are not always north. All summer long wildfire smoke has dimmed the sun and blotted out the stars, which continued while I was there. But the sky did clear at times unexpectedly. The biggest challenge was getting these clear periods to align with the aurora activity. But camping out nearby ensured I was ready and wouldn’t miss anything.
    River of Water and Light
  • The light of sunrise illuminates one of the first snowfalls of the season in the Bighorn Mountains near Dayton. The switchbacks of Highway 14 can be seen in the valley.
    Fog and Switchbacks
  • Tucked away in a dusty corner of northwest Nebraska, the Toadstool Geological Area is a place very different than the rest of the state. It's similar to the Badlands of South Dakota, yet different. The badlands and geological formations here are very brittle and are constantly changing and being weathered away. Many of the toadstool formations that the park is named after are no longer standing.
    Toadstool Moon
  • My goal was to get an overview of the Teton Valley with the highest peaks lighting up at sunset. But despite the forecast for clear and sunny skies, I was dismayed when I got to the top and saw that the Tetons were hidden from view and the clouds were not going to lift. So I turned my attention to the west instead, looking towards Stouts Mountain and the Swan Valley. At first the light was flat there too, but then a gap in the clouds slowly began to open up. Sunbeams danced across the ridges and the light became better and better. Finally the sun came out for just a moment, and a pillar appeared above it caused by ice crystals suspended in the air. It wasn't the shot I had planned, but this short-lived sunset view was worth all the effort to snowshoe up this mountain.
    Big Hole Mountain Sunset
  • It looked like there wouldn't be a colorful sunset since a snowstorm lingered into the evening. But then it started to break, revealing the peaks of the Alaska Range underneath fiery clouds. As far as I can tell this peak has no name but it is in front of Mount Moffet which remained mostly hidden.
    Sunset Over the Alaska Range
  • South of Billings, Montana, rising up out of the Bighorn Basin, is the Pryor Mountains. These mountains are home to a herd of mustangs. Some of these wild horses hang out in the lower elevations near Bighorn Canyon, but the majority are found near the mountaintop at 8,000 feet where the grass is greener. Getting here requires traveling a long, rough, and steep dirt road. On my prior Pryor visit, I didn't get all the shots I wanted and was only able to capture the horses in the middle of the day. But this time I made sure to be in the right place at sunset. The views were amazing into the valley below, and the light was magical. The horses numbered at least 60, but I lost count as they moved around. In the last minutes before the sun set, many of them trotted past me. Shooting into the sun created a dreamy look, but I had to be careful not to blind myself.
    Walking Into the Light
  • I stayed at Poker Jim Butte to watch the sunset. While trees block the views in most directions, there was a pretty good view towards the west.
    Before the Colors Fade
  • A flowering yucca plant stands out among the swaying grass in the sunrise light. Tucked away in a dusty corner of northwest Nebraska, the Toadstool Geological Area is a place very different than the rest of the state. It's similar to the Badlands of South Dakota, yet different. The badlands and geological formations here are very brittle and are constantly changing and being weathered away. Many of the toadstool formations that the park is named after are no longer standing.
    Yucca Badlands Sunrise
  • After snowing on and off all day, the clouds parted just before sunset and revealed a fiery sky to the west. First one peak would become visible, and then glimpses of even higher summits beyond. The Alaska Range is the tallest mountain range in North America. Not only do these mountains reach high, but they also start low at about 1,000 feet above sea level. This makes even the shorter peaks look impressive. None of the other high mountains of the world are located this far north. The Alaska Range is notorious for some of the harshest weather on the planet. 100 mph winds and temperatures below -50°F are not uncommon in the winter. Except for the occasional wolf howl it was a quiet evening. But the next morning very strong winds would start to blow. It was a warm southerly wind, melting the snow in a matter of hours. The higher gusts kept blowing open the door and bent the chimney of the cabin where I was staying. I never did get to see Denali during my trip, but that just gives me a reason to go back some day.
    Donnelly Sunset Reflection
  • The rivers in Alaska are unlike anywhere else I've been. They are very wide, but split into many channels separated by sandbars. Their courses are ever-changing, influenced by floods and ice jams. Some rivulets were deep and fast-flowing, while others were shallow and calm. This river is fittingly named the Delta. To reach the flowing water I had to walk farther than the map showed. The setting sun painted the high clouds gold while lower clouds hugged the peaks of the Alaska Range 40 miles away. There are no bridges over the Delta River so getting across it is tricky. Much of the land in between the river and the mountains is undisturbed forest and tundra. But there also exists unexploded ordnance since it's a testing range used by the military. After this I stumbled across a large carcass which reminded me that this isn't always the friendliest of places. Alaska is home to approximately 32,000 grizzly bears and I didn't want to stick around here long enough to meet one.
    Delta River Sunset
  • By 2AM the northern lights were not as bright as before, but they still pulsed and flickered in red and green over Devils Tower. Meanwhile the milky way began rising to the southeast in a giant arc. Near the base of the tower I found a cliff where I could see and capture everything in a panorama.
    Aurora Tower and Galaxy
  • On my way back from Yellowstone, I stopped at Four Dances Recreation Area, to shoot the sunset. Here cliffs rise up to 500 feet above the Yellowstone River. The best view is looking south, away from Billings.
    Four Dances Cliff
  • The first light of the last day of 2016 touches Grand Teton while clouds swirl around Mount Owen. This mountain is nothing short of grand. It towers 13,775 feet above sea level, just shy of Wyoming's highest peak. From the moment the Tetons first come into view while driving through the valley, I find it hard to look away. These dramatic, sawtooth-shaped mountains are spectacular any time of the year, but especially so in winter. The summit is flanked on both sides by 2 glaciers.
    Grand Opening
  • The last light of the day illuminates the summit of the 11,049 feet high Telescope Peak in Death Valley National Park.
    Telescope Peak Aglow
  • The light of sunrise illuminates one of the first snowfalls of the season in the Bighorn Mountains near Dayton.
    Frosted Slopes
  • While this day of stormchasing was somewhat frustrating, it ended with a beautiful view of a thunderhead at sunset over the Sandhills. It's so empty out here that it's easier to find a wind mill than another person.
    Sand Hills Sunset
  • For most of the day clouds, fog, and snow showers hid the sun. I was not expecting to see any color at sunset. But this overlook of the Snake River in eastern Idaho was spectacular enough that I had to wait it out just in case. The sky did not disappoint. Even though this view is looking east, the sun’s rays snuck in through a gap in the clouds to paint the entire sky orange and pink. Sometimes the best sunset is the one that almost doesn't happen. <br />
The Snake River begins on the Continental Divide in Yellowstone National Park. It flows more than 1,000 miles before connecting to the Columbia River in Washington. Together they form the longest river in North America that empties into the Pacific Ocean. Here the river flows beside the Big Hole Mountains in the Swan Valley. Farther west it winds its way through the much flatter Snake River Plain. Then on the opposite side of the state it carves a gorge deeper than the Grand Canyon. The pause in the weather was brief. An additional foot of snow would fall in these mountains overnight.
    Sunset Over the Snake
  • As the aurora substorm subsided, the moon set beside Devils Tower, reflected in the Belle Fourche River.
    Mirrored Moon and Aurora
  • In December of 2018 Comet 46P/Wirtanen flew by the Pleiades in the constellation Taurus. Also known as the Seven Sisters, this star cluster is one of the closest to Earth at a distance of about 444 light years away. The extra hot and luminous stars cast their light on the nearby reflection nebula, which gives it the blue color. Comet 46P/Wirtanen was at it's closest approach just 7.2 million miles (11.5 million km) away from Earth. This makes it one of the top 10 closest comet encounters of the Space Age. While they look the same size in this image, the comet is quite a bit fainter, just barely detectable to the naked eye. The nucleus of the comet is less than 1 mile wide, but it's diffuse coma (cometary atmosphere) is larger than the planet Jupiter.
    The Flyby
  • I stood on top of a peak in the Big Hole Mountains of Idaho after snowshoeing up. At first I was disappointed by all the clouds hiding the Tetons from view and making the light flat (the forecast called for sunny and clear). But then the clouds began to break up in the west and golden sunbeams (also known as crepuscular rays) danced across the ridges.
    Light Breaking Forth
  • South of Billings, Montana, rising up out of the Bighorn Basin, is the Pryor Mountains. These mountains are home to a herd of mustangs. Some of these wild horses hang out in the lower elevations near Bighorn Canyon, but the majority are found near the mountaintop at 8,000 feet where the grass is greener. Getting here requires traveling a long, rough, and steep dirt road. On my prior Pryor visit, I didn't get all the shots I wanted and was only able to capture the horses in the middle of the day. But this time I made sure to be in the right place at sunset. The views were amazing into the valley below, and the light was magical. The horses numbered at least 60, but I lost count as they moved around. In the last minutes before the sun set, many of them trotted past me. Shooting into the sun created a dreamy look, but I had to be careful not to blind myself.
    Golden Day
  • At 4AM, I was ready to head home. The aurora had mostly faded away hours earlier. But then it came back. The crescent moon was gently lighting up the snow. This time, the colors were more of a deep purple and blue as twilight began to overtake the sky.
    4AM Aurora
  • The Snake River Overlook is the spot where Ansel Adams took one of his most iconic photos. I wanted to try a different take by just focusing on the Grand Teton itself and the S-curve of the Snake River.
    Grand Teton Snake
  • The sunrise filled the sky with color as seen from Font's Point in Anza Borrego Desert State Park.
    Across the Sky
  • A tornado-warned supercell is the last thing I expected to see in Arizona in November. When I stopped in Petrified Forest National Park for a few hours, I noticed a strong storm heading for the Holbrook area. I briefly considered chasing it when I saw a velocity couplet on radar indicating rotation, but decided to stay in the national park instead. I forgot about it until later when I went up to Blue Mesa to shoot the sunset. I immediately noticed this mesocyclone to the west, backlit by the colors of sunset. A tornado never touched down. But I was glad I was able to photograph this storm with a beautiful landscape of colorful eroded buttes and mesas, even though I was 40 miles away.
    Arizona Mesocyclone
  • Tucked away in a dusty corner of northwest Nebraska, the Toadstool Geological Area is a place very different than the rest of the state. It's similar to the Badlands of South Dakota, yet different. The badlands and geological formations here are very brittle and are constantly changing and being weathered away. Many of the toadstool formations that the park is named after are no longer standing.
    Jumbled Toadstool Rocks
  • All of the Lights
  • On October 21st, Northern Wyoming received it's first snowfall of the season that made it down to the valleys. After the storm cleared out overnight, the temperature plummeted. It was about 10°F up here at 6500 feet in the Bighorn Mountains. I made it to one of my favorite views, the Sand Turn Overlook just as the sun was peeking over the horizon. I was glad to find this tree still showing it's fall foliage, illustrating the clash of two seasons.
    Winter in October
  • The milky way shines above a small pond in Weinberg King State Park. I took 300 pictures here for a time lapse. In a few of the frames, I pointed my car headlights at the pond from 100 yards away. When the headlights were on for the full 30 second exposure it was too bright. But when the headlights were only on a part of the time it was just right.
    While the Frogs Croak
  • A vibrant sunset is reflected in the muddy waters of the Little Missouri River. This river flows over 500 miles on it's way to the Big Missouri. Echoing across the wilderness was the sound of bugling elk, and stampeding bison. The Wind Canyon overlook is one of the most scenic views in Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The 26th president started a cattle ranch here in 1885. Even though the harsh North Dakota winter drove him out a few years later, it was his time here that inspired him to establish many national parks, forests, and wildlife refuges.
    Glowing River
  • When I got to Lake DeSmet for a night of stargazing, the aurora was glowing a deep red color. I ran to this point of the lake so I could look north and capture the reflection.
    Lake DeSmet Aurora
  • For centuries a piece of rock about an inch in diameter has been speeding through space at 158,000 mph. It’s part of a dusty trail shed by the Comet Tempel-Tuttle. Every year around November 18th Earth encounters this comet debris in what’s known as the Leonid meteor shower. At 2:18AM this particular meteoroid was vaporized by Earth’s atmosphere in a brilliant flash of light. For 20-30 minutes afterwards a glowing vapor trail hung in the sky, twisting and turning before dispersing. Beneath Medicine Mountain in the Bighorns, the weather was perfect for stargazing this time of year. Most years the Leonids are nothing special, but they have a history. Approximately every 33 years, a denser stream of debris causes meteor rates to skyrocket. Historical accounts describe hundreds of thousands of falling stars filling the entire sky in a meteor storm. Though numbers were low this year, sometimes it only takes one to make your night.
    Leonid Meteor
  • At the end of March Venus was at it’s greatest elongation. That is when the 2nd planet from the Sun is at it’s highest and brightest in Earth’s sky. Outshining every star and planet, it’s even bright enough to see during the day under the right conditions. Because Venus is an inferior planet orbiting inside Earth’s orbit, it never strays more than 47° from the Sun. When Venus is east of the Sun it is the Evening Star. But when it is west of the Sun it becomes the Morning Star. Counterintuitively Venus appears brightest during it’s crescent phase because that’s when it’s closer to Earth. The Moon was also a crescent on this evening. It’s always challenging to capture the Moon with the stars as they appear to the eye since it's so much brighter. But the passing clouds acted as a filter and helped to balance the exposure. Above the glowing cloud is the Pleiades, the most recognizable star cluster in the sky. A week later Venus would pass through the Pleiades, an occurrence that happens every 8 years.
    Filtered Moonlight
  • After trekking for 10 miles into the wilderness of Abisko National Park in Swedish Lapland, I was relieved to reach my destination. The last couple miles were the toughest, crossing a frozen lake fully exposed to the wind. My face was getting numb and the last of my water was now a block of ice. After warming up a bit I went back out to capture the mountain Kieron glowing in the evening sunlight. High peaks surround this scenic valley in the Scandinavian Mountains. The vegetation at the edge of tree line mostly consists of short birches, with everything else buried under a meter of snow. This was the first segment of the Kungsleden, a popular 270 mile long hiking and skiing trail. Ski season doesn’t start until the 2nd half of winter, the first half is much too dark. Mountain cabins are spaced about a day’s journey apart. They lack electricity or running water. But chopping firewood and collecting water from a hole cut in the ice keeps guests busy. The facilities included a small store, caretaker’s cabin, bunkhouse, and of course a sauna.
    Birches and Kieron
  • A rain shower approaches the west side of the Bighorn Mountains while glowing gold before sunset.
    Evening Mountain Rain
  • During a heat wave I always like heading up to the Bighorn Mountains to cool down. I kept driving until I could go no higher. This highway, (14A) was opened for the season at the end of May and many snow drifts still remained. Darkness arrives very slowly this time of year, so I made some coffee and waited. After 11PM the blues of twilight finally faded away. Nights like this are rare at this elevation. No cold, wind, clouds, haze or anything else spoiled the view. It was perfect for stargazing. No matter how many times I see it, I'm always blown away by the sight of the milky way rising in a dark sky. Glittering star clusters, clouds of dust both dark and bright, glowing nebulae of all colors filled the scene. The more you look the more you see. A star tracking mount was used to counteract earth's rotation, allowing me to capture this highly-detailed image.
    Hunt Mountain Milky Way
  • On this January night the moon was 3 days past full which means it didn't rise until 3 hours after sunset. When the moon crested the horizon it was dim and orange, for the same reason that the sun is orange when it first rises. Because earth's atmosphere is thicker at the horizon, it absorbs blue wavelengths of light and lets warmer colors shine through. This view is from the mountains west of Sheridan, whose lights can be seen glowing on the left. This entire mountainside along Red Grade Road burned in a wildfire nearly 10 years ago. But even dead trees can look photogenic in the right light.
    Moment of Moonrise
  • The Fetterman Monument near Story, Wyoming, is a great place for stargazing. This is the view looking south from the top of the hill. The glowing cloud seemed to hardly move at all.
    Road to Fetterman
  • After the sun set over the Absaroka Mountains, Venus became brighter and the zodiacal light began to glow vividly all around it. The diffuse, diagonal glow is caused by the sun illuminating dust particles within the solar system.
    Venus Glow
  • The deep blues of twilight begin to overtake the eastern sky as the zodiacal light continues to glow. In the middle of the picture is Venus, the brightest object in the night sky besides the moon. I woke up at 5:20 AM in this campground, took a few pictures, and then went back to sleep.
    Ghostly Glow
  • After being surrounded by a very thick fog before sunrise, it finally began to burn off as the sun rose. The light was changing by the second as a warm glow lit up the trees.
    Unearthly Glow
  • All was quiet at 3AM in the pleasantly cool air. It felt like I was the only one awake. I was at my ‘lazy’ aurora watching spot, where I go when I don’t feel like driving far. For hours, a southward-oriented solar wind stream had been pouring energy into Earth's magnetic field. It's these conditions that eventually lead to a geomagnetic storm. Moonlight, as well as smoke from a new forest fire were conspiring to hide the glow. But after waiting for a bit the northern sky finally broke out into pillars. The colors could not be seen with the eye but the greens, reds, and purples showed up well on camera. Just when I was about to leave I heard the train horn. The crossing gate went down and soon I could feel the rumble and wind as the train cars rushed past me. I’ve never captured a moving train at night, but this was the perfect time to try. The empty train was heading north to pick up a load of coal from the mines. It turns out I wasn’t the only one awake.
    Northbound Train
  • After a 35-minute ride on a chairlift in the dark, I arrived at the Aurora Sky Station, 1000 meters above sea level near the top of the mountain Nuolja. Below stretched out a panoramic view of the lake Torneträsk, the lights from Abisko village, and other peaks of the Scandinavian Mountains. The weather was ideal. Even though temperatures were at the lower limit in which the lift is allowed to operate, the skies were clear and the wind was calm. Unfortunately the aurora was calm as well. The northern lights danced a little on the ride up, then faded to a weak glow barely perceptible for the rest of the night. But I tried to make the most of my time up here by shooting this startrail image. I processed it in a way to fade the trails into the background while bringing out the colors of the faint green aurora band. Even though my camera was pointed due north, it was not possible to include the North Star in the shot, at least not without shooting vertically. In Arctic latitudes the North Celestial Pole is too high up in the sky.
    Nuolja Star Trails
  • February started off with a geomagnetic storm on a mild winter night. At 1AM the northern sky briefly glowed green as seen from St Xavier, Montana. The Bighorn River provided a reflection; the current is fast enough here that it doesn't freeze over. I scouted out this location in the fall and knew it would be a great spot to camp out and wait for the aurora when the opportunity presented itself. A giant hole in the sun’s outer atmosphere (the corona) allowed the solar wind to escape and head towards Earth. Coronal holes rotate around the solar disk every 27 days, so they can be predicted in advance. When the high speed solar wind (up to 600 km/second) hits Earth’s magnetic field, charged particles wrap around the poles and the auroral oval expands towards the equator. This leads to the aurora being visible from mid-latitudes. But the exact timing, local weather, and other factors dictate where it can actually be seen.
    Bighorn River Aurora
  • Early in the morning the northern horizon glowed green. This was caused by a geomagnetic storm from a recurring coronal hole on the sun. A coronal hole is an opening in the outer atmosphere of the sun that allows the high-speed solar wind to escape, which triggers the aurora when it impacts Earth’s magnetic field. Since the sun rotates on it’s axis every 27 days, this can be predicted in advance. I saw the aurora from this coronal hole in September, but last month it was too cloudy. I was determined to see it again this weekend even if it meant staying up all night dodging clouds (aurora hunting is an addiction). The infrared satellite showed a gap in the clouds moving in at 2AM, so I made some coffee and found a dark spot on the Wyoming/Montana state line to watch and wait. It wasn’t the best display I've seen, but I’ll take what I can get during solar minimum, and the meteor was a nice bonus.
    Parkman Pond Aurora - 32
  • For most of the night the northern lights glowed brightly to the north. But it was just a green band that didn't show much movement. Then at 2AM the sky exploded into color, with purple pillars reaching all the way up to the zenith. I've seen the northern lights dozens of times, but this was only the 3rd time I've seen them reach that high. Unfortunately 2AM is when I decided to change locations so I missed out on the best part of the show.
    Subsiding Substorm
  • For most of the night the northern lights glowed brightly to the north. But it was just a green band that didn't show much movement. Then at 2AM the sky exploded into color, with purple pillars reaching all the way up to the zenith. I've seen the northern lights dozens of times, but this was only the 3rd time I've seen them reach that high. Unfortunately 2AM is when I decided to change locations so I missed out on the best part of the show.
    Bursting With Color
  • At 2:30AM my alarm went off after catching a few hours of sleep. The moon was about to set, leaving me with 3 hours of darkness to watch the Orionid meteor shower over Devils Tower. My camera captured this bright streak of light shortly before twilight began. But the fact that it appeared in 2 frames and lacks any colors suggests that it was a satellite flare and not a meteor. The diffuse glow rising up diagonally from the horizon is called the zodiacal light. Also known as false dawn, the glow is caused by the sun illuminating the dust which is shed by comets and asteroids in the inner solar system. This cone-shaped glow is projected against the constellations of the zodiac, which is the path that the sun, moon, and planets travel through the sky. I've seen the zodiacal light before, but never this bright and prominent. It can only be viewed from the darkest of locations, far away from light pollution, on very clear moonless nights.
    False Dawn and Iridium Flare
  • A colorful sunset fills the western sky above the Grand Canyon as seen from Yavapai Point
    Orange Glow at Yavapai
  • The morning sky lights up with color over Elephant Rocks State Park. This state park contains numerous large granite boulders that have been eroding for many years to make them round and smooth.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: May 7, 2014
    Granite Glow
  • Kirkjufell is said to be the most photographed and one of the most beautiful mountains in Iceland. But not many people get to see the view from the top. The trail going up was the steepest and most exposed hike I've ever done. A system of knotted ropes must be used to make it up some of the cliffs. Once at the summit, the evening sun broke through, and low clouds floated past. The view was breathtaking.
    Kirkjufell Glow
  • After checking the sunset forecast, this seemed as good an evening as any to climb a peak that I've had my eye on for awhile. I knew there would be a great view of the Cloud Peak massif if I could make it to the top. There was no trail and the route up this forested mountainside was steep. But it was the first 60°F day of the year and enough snow had melted on the south-facing slope to make the going easier. The sun quickly disappeared once I reached the top and the light turned flat. When the sun is hidden on the opposite side of the mountains it can be hard to tell what kind of sunset it will be. Will there be any color or are the clouds too thick? But then a subtle glow slowly began to emerge to the west. It spread across the sky as the wind picked up and the temperature dropped. Minutes later the glow was gone, like it never happened.
    Short But Sweet Sunset
  • A soft pink glow hangs in the east as seen from Telescope Peak, the top of Death Valley National Park. The views from this 11,049 feet high mountain are outstanding. Nowhere else can you see both the highest and the lowest point in the continental US. On the upper slopes of the Panamint Range grow bristlecone pines, a tree with a lifespan measured in millennia. The pink glow in the sky is known as the Belt of Venus, and it's caused by the backscattering of reddened light from the setting sun. The blue band beneath it is the shadow of the earth projected out onto the earth's atmosphere. If I had taken a panorama you could see that this shadow is curved, matching the curvature of the earth. This phenomena can be seen on any clear evening in the east after the sun sets (or in the west before the sun rises). But the colors were especially vivid here, above all the dust and aerosols in the lower atmosphere. I wanted to stay on the summit to watch the stars come out, but I still had to hike 8 miles and descend 3600 feet to get back to the Thorndike Campground where I started.
    Highest to Lowest
  • After the sun set over the Absaroka Mountains, Venus became brighter and the zodiacal light began to glow vividly all around it. The diffuse, diagonal glow is caused by the sun illuminating dust particles within the solar system. I shot a couple hundred images for a time lapse and caught a meteor in one of them.
    Zodiacal Meteor
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