Sunday, 19 September 2010 15:40

Jupiter, reflecting a glow off Dyer's Bay

Written by 

Take away the sun, the moon, and human-created light-pollution, and Jupiter can actually cast a significant glow off a body of water.

 

You could call it "Jupiter-rise", perhaps.

This photo may look rather dim, and grainy. It has been adjusted greatly to demonstrate the water reflection. Out of the dozens of photos I took with both my Canon Powershot, and my iPhone, only one shot from the Canon worked out. What I got right: setting the exposure time to the highest possible, and ISO on automatic. What I got wrong on most of them, was trying to set the ISO high manually.

Technical details aside, I must admit I never thought a planet (or star) could cast a visible reflection off a body of water, even without the moon or light pollution. It was truely an unbelieveable sight. It reminded me fondly of artist renderings of what the sun would look like from Pluto.

Without the dark sky preserves like along the Bruce Penninsula (specifically, this was taken at Dyer's Bay), we'd never see this, ever. Unless there was a huge blackout.

Dark sky preserves should be in more abundance than they are. The disconnect from both nature and the universe above in urban environments is so extreme, there are stories from blackouts where people have been known to call authorities with reports of "strange lights in the sky". These strange lights: stars.

Read 965 times Last modified on Tuesday, 05 October 2010 06:20

Leave a comment

Make sure you enter the (*) required information where indicated.
Basic HTML code is allowed.

Life Stream About this Site Bio Links

This site exists as a hub for sharing my photos, designs, and writings.

Most photos are taken with my "point-and-shoot" Canon Powershot, and a few of the newer ones are taken with an iPhone4. Some photos in the "articles" are not mine, where this is the case credit is given in caption.

About the author

I am a web developer, programmer, and Chief Technology Officer of both CartaNova (an eco-conscious and ethical web design business) and Weever Apps (mobile apps for Joomla). Additionally, I am a coordinator for Canadian Centres for Teaching Peace, specifically involved in stewarding the Peace Café movement, and networking with peace educators.