tiabunna's photos

With everyone from the Northern Hemisphere posting cold weather images, I thought I'd follow suit. :-) This was taken during our visit to Oslo. HBM and have a safe and enjoyable week, everyone.

Copied from an old 1966 slide. Previously posted some years ago, now with a better quality image. View large on black. The Bureau of Meteorology had asked us to look for these colourful thin clouds and, in August, we were surprised and delighted to see them behind the meteorological office. They are Nacreous Clouds, also known as "Mother of Pearl" clouds because of their colours or, more currently, as "Polar Stratospheric Clouds". They are made of ice crystals (which give their colour), are about 20-25 km high, and form when temperatures there drop below -80 C. They had always been considered quite rare and I believe our sighting was one of the earliest confirmed at Mawson in Antarctica. There have been very numerous sightings since, significantly becoming as late as October, because of climate change effects. Ozone normally forms in the early spring in the polar stratosphere and absorbs ultraviolet radiation as the sun returns, in the process warming the stratosphere. In the 1970s it was found that Chlorofluorocarbon gases (once used in spray cans and old refrigerators) mix through the atmosphere and break up the newly formed ozone, causing the polar stratosphere to remain colder in spring. This is the "ozone hole". Although chlorofluorocarbon gas use has (largely) been banned, it will take years for the gases already released to break down, for the ozone hole to heal totally, and for the stratosphere to return to normal. Yes, this is relevant to climate change: see this link.

From my archives. Dry stone walls are very uncommon in Australia. These are near the Barossa Valley in South Australia. Happy Fence Friday, everyone, and wishing you a safe and enjoyable weekend.

I had to get more images of these while they're flowering so well. This looks good viewed large on black. A second image (with a bee) in the PiP.

For Macro Mondays Group, topic 238 3 January 2022. "Signs and traces of wear and tear." This large wooden stirring spoon is still very useful, though showing signs of wear,

These are flowering everywhere around here at present. Beautiful flowers, but they can become invasive.

I was having 'End of Year' drinks with friends in their garden toward sunset, while the local mob of kangaroos were wandering by outside the fence. With the final HFF for 2021 coming up, I couldn't resist the urge to grab a photo with my phone, though by then only one remained. HFF and my very best wishes for a happy and healthy New Year, everyone.

After nights of rain and cloud, finally we had a look at Comet Leonard. I must admit it was a little disappointing, as even with binoculars it proved hard to find - it certainly was not a naked eye comet. As a bonus though, there are a couple of satellites to the left of the image if you view large.

Somewhere pleasant (and an "official" bench at that) to have lunch on a summer's day. HBM, everyone, and best wishes for the coming week.