Today, the surface of the sun facing Earth is blank – no sunspots – and it has been for 21 days.

The sun has entered the quiet period of the solar cycle that lasts, on average, 11 years. So far in 2018, there has been 108 days where there were no spots on the surface of the sun. That’s 55% of the year-to-date without sunspots.

From January 1, 2011 through the end of 2015, a period of 5 years, there were only 3 days where the sun didn’t have some spots on the side facing Earth.

The last time there was as many spotless consecutive days was in the summer of 2009 when the sun was emerging from an unusually deep solar minimum.

For some time, scientists have been speculating that declining rates of sunspots may signal a prolonged period of no sunspots and, concurrently, a lowering of global temperatures.

Say Goodbye to Sunspots?

Scientists studying sunspots for the past 2 decades have concluded that the magnetic field that triggers their formation has been steadily declining. If the current trend continues, by 2016 the sun’s face may become spotless and remain that way for decades—a phenomenon that in the 17th century coincided with a prolonged period of cooling on Earth.²

Conjectures about changing conditions on the sun leading to global cooling continue 8 years after the above was written.  Many scientists disagree. Unfortunately, the theories cannot be tested in a laboratory and computer modeling may not yet be up to the task.

Perhaps we’ll just have to wait and see.

• Diminishing solar activity may bring new Ice Age by 2030 – Astronomy Now, July 17, 2015
• Drop in Sunspot Activity a Warning of Global Cooling – Principia Scientific International, January 4, 2017
• Global Warming vs. Solar Cooling: The Showdown Begins in 2020 – LiveScience, February 9, 2018
• Sun’s impact on climate change quantified for first time – Swiss National Science Foundation, March 27, 2017

1. Wikipedia
2. Say Goodbye to Sunspots? by Phil Beradelli, September 14, 2010, ScienceNOW (accessed July 18, 2010)

Post-processing #31 |

Shortcutting trails causes erosion and can be dangerous, Trail to Brink of Lower Falls of the Yellowstone, Yellowstone National Park , Wyoming, August 5, 2010 (Pentax K10D)

Trail switchbacks limit the grade of the trail while gaining elevation on a steep slope. They lengthen the trail and, unfortunately, are sometimes shortcut by impatient hikers – thus damaging or destroying vegetation and increasing erosion problems that can be severe in heavily visited areas, requiring frequent maintenance.  In some instances, extensive and expensive revegetation is required and may incorporate blocking elements such as rock walls or logs to discourage shortcutting.

Notes:

Post-processing – Image editing to enhance the photo closer to what the eye “saw.” Images in this series are selected within a day or so of being edited and are either posted at the time or scheduled for posting at a later date.

Post-processing¹ #30 |

Stormy weather over a pasture (with cows) and the Absaroka Range at Livingson, Montana KOA (across the Yellowstone River), August 3, 2010 (Pentax K10D)

Paradise Valley, Montana²

Paradise Valley is a major river valley of the Yellowstone River in southwestern Montana just north of Yellowstone National Park in Park County, Montana. The valley is flanked by the Absaroka Range on the east and the Gallatin Range on the west.

The Yellowstone River flows through the valley and is noted for world-class fly fishing in the river and nearby spring creeks such as DePuy Spring Creek. The valley hosts other natural wonders such as several natural hot springs, including Chico Hot Springs near Emigrant, Montana, La Duke Hot Springs near Gardiner, and Hunter’s Hot Springs near Livingston.

Mount Cowen is the largest peak near the valley, at 11,212 feet (3,417 m) in elevation. It is located in the southern portion of the valley on the eastern side of the river within the Absaroka mountain range.

1. Post-processing – Image editing to enhance the photo closer to what the eye “saw.” Images in this series are selected within a day or so of being edited and are either posted at the time or scheduled for posting at a later date.
2. Paradise Valley (Montana) – Wikipedia

Post-processing¹ #29 |

Carl Hayden Visitor Center at Glen Canyon Dam, Page, Arizona, October 10, 2015, viewed from a window at the dam power plant elevation. (Pentax K-3 II)

Carl Hayden Visitor Center at Glen Canyon Dam²

• Summer hours (mid-May – mid-September) 8 am – 6 pm MST;
  Winter Hours (November through February) daily, 8 am – 4 pm MST;
  Rest of year open daily 8 am – 5 pm MST;
  Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day
• Phone: 928-608-6200. Tours of the Dam: 928-608-6072. Bookstore: 928-608-6068.
• Location: Highway 89 on west side of Glen Canyon Dam
• Attractions: Tours of the dam provided by Glen Canyon Natural History Association, exhibits, video shows, a relief map of the entire Glen Canyon area. Restrooms and a bookstore.

  Tours of the dam are $5, and as a federal power plant facility, security measures are in place. While no bags, purses, knives, weapons, or food are allowed on the tour, wallets, cameras, and clear water bottles are welcome.

1. Post-processing – Image editing to enhance the photo closer to what the eye “saw.” Images in this series are selected within a day or so of being edited and are either posted at the time or scheduled for posting at a later date.
2. Glen Canyon Visitor Centers – National Park Service

Exit78 Photo of the Day #139

When we were in Idaho in 2010, we visited a gold dredge on the Yankee Fork  Salmon River in Custer County.

Yankee Fork Gold Dredge, Custer County, Idaho, July 28, 2010 (Composite image from three Pentax K10D photos using Autostitch)

Challis-Yankee Fork Ranger District – Yankee Fork Dredge¹

In the early 1930’s several placer miners joined together to form a company to see if they could get someone interested in dredging their claims on the Yankee Fork. Twenty-nine claims were involved.

During 1938 and 1939, the Silas Mason Co.of Shreveport, Louisiana became interested. When tests indicated approximately $16,000,000 worth of gold was recoverable, they formed a subsidiary, the Snake River Mining Co., to manage the dredging. The Bueyrus-Erie Company was awarded a contract to build the dredge in 1939 and completed it in the fall of 1940. The Olson Manufacturing Company manufactured most of the steel work in Boise, Idaho. The parts were shipped by train to Mackay, then hauled by trucks to Yankee Fork and assembled in 1940.

From 1940 until it closed in August of 1952, the dredge dug out rock and recovered gold by washing and separating the rock, dirt and gold. The Snake River Mining Company operated the dredge for several years until it reached a rock dike below Bonanza in 1949. At that time they sold it to Mr. J.R. Simplot and Mr. Baumhoff who operated the dredge until 1951 when Mr. Simplot purchased his partner’s interest. The dredge was then operated until 1952 when it ran out of mining claims on which to work. The dredge has not been operated since 1952 and it remains the largest self-powered dredge ever to operate in Idaho.

(Note: I am also posting photos in a series called Photography Now & Then at Haw-Creek.com)

Endnotes:

1. USDA Forest Service, accessed May 17, 2018

Series notes:

• The photos in this series are (usually) randomly selected from a batch of photos specifically “curated” for Exit78 Photo of the Day.
• Each photo in this series is an “original work” – a copyright term – of Michael Goad.

Exit78 Photo of the Day #138

There are a very large number of thermal features in Yellowstone.  Given the recent seismic and volcanic events in Hawaii, it’s only natural that people wonder about the super-volcano that lies beneath the park.  Many of the features have changed over the years as a result of seismic activities, including Seismic Pool, a 167°F – or so – thermal feature in West Thumb Geyser Basin.

Seismograph Pool, West Thumb Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, August 4, 2010 (Pentax K10D)

“Seismograph and Bluebell pools used to be known as the “Blue Pools.” After the 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake, which measured 7.5 on the Richter scale, the pools were renamed. At West Thumb, no one recorded the nature of the changes caused by the quake, but perhaps someone thought Seismograph Pool somehow “registered” the earthquakes. These days, Seismograph is sometimes muddy, but not from earthquakes. The mud comes from the runoff of nearby mud pots.”¹

(Note: I am also posting photos in a series called Photography Now & Then at Haw-Creek.com)

Endnotes:

1. Seismograph Pool, Montana State University, accessed May 17, 2018

Series notes:

• The photos in this series are (usually) randomly selected from a batch of photos specifically “curated” for Exit78 Photo of the Day.
• Each photo in this series is an “original work” – a copyright term – of Michael Goad.

Exit78 Photo of the Day #137

Sandy Cove campground, on the east side of Canton Lake dam in western Oklahoma is one of places we’ve stopped on the first night of a couple of trips out west.

Sunset over Canton Lake, Sandy Cove swim area, western Oklahoma, August 29, 2009 (Pentax K10D)

Canton Lake¹

Canton Lake is located in west Oklahoma on the North Canadian River, 2 miles north of the town of Canton. This man-made lake offers extensive opportunity for outdoor recreational activities. Canton Lake plays host to a large number of campers, picnickers, boaters, fishermen, and hunters every year. It is one of the few places that offers these types of recreational opportunities in western Oklahoma. Its gently sloping sandy beach is an open invitation for swimming and sunbathing. Water skiing is popular on the broad expanse of water paralleling the dam where winds are subdued. Services and supplies are available on access roads leading to project areas and at the commercial concession on the lake. The Corps of Engineers operates five multi-use recreation areas that offer a combination of overnight camping and day-use opportunities to the visiting public. Sightseers may view the lake from the 2.5 mile stretch of State Highway 58A which crosses over Canton Dam. Three parking areas/pullouts with fishing jetties are located on the dam. Other features include a nature trail, overlook visitor center, outdoor amphitheater, scenic drive, and active prairie dog town. Canton Lake is Oklahoma’s leading fisherman’s paradise. It provides several species of fish, including crappie, white bass, hybrid bass, channel catfish, and largemouth bass. Canton is most widely known for an abundance of walleye and has become the primary source of walleye eggs used to stock other Oklahoma lakes. Canton Lake hosts an annual Walleye Rodeo fishing derby during the month of May. A major attraction for the hunter is the 14,862-acre public hunting area managed by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. This area primarily offers hunting for bobwhite quail, deer, waterfowl, squirrel, wild turkey, and dove, and is open all year.

(Note: I am also posting photos in a series called Photography Now & Then at Haw-Creek.com)

Endnotes:

1. Recreation.gov, accessed May 17, 2018

Series notes:

• The photos in this series are (usually) randomly selected from a batch of photos specifically “curated” for Exit78 Photo of the Day.
• Each photo in this series is an “original work” – a copyright term – of Michael Goad.

Exit78 Photo of the Day #136

Clematis blossom, west – central Arkansas, May 16, 2018 (Apple iPhone 6s)

Clematis¹

Clematisis a genus of about 300 species within the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae. Their garden hybrids have been popular among gardeners, beginning with Clematis × jackmanii, a garden standby since 1862; more hybrid cultivars are being produced constantly. They are mainly of Chinese and Japanese origin. Most species are known as clematis in English, while some are also known as traveller’s joy, a name invented for the sole British native, C. vitalba, by the herbalist John Gerard; virgin’s bower for C. viticella and for C. terniflora; old man’s beard, applied to several with prominent seedheads; leather flower for those with fleshy petals; or vase vine for the North American Clematis viorna.

(Note: I am also posting photos in a series called Photography Now & Then at Haw-Creek.com)

Endnotes:

1. Wikipedia, accessed May 17, 2018

Series notes:

• The photos in this series are (usually) randomly selected from a batch of photos specifically “curated” for Exit78 Photo of the Day.
• Each photo in this series is an “original work” – a copyright term – of Michael Goad.

Post-processing¹ #28 |

Glen Canyon Dam Bridge, US 89, Page, Arizona, October 10, 2015 (Pentax K-3 II from 36°56’07.0″N 111°29’07.8″W)

Glen Canyon Dam Bridge²

The Glen Canyon Bridge or Glen Canyon Dam Bridge is a steel arch bridge in Coconino County, Arizona, carrying U.S. Route 89 across the Colorado River. The bridge was originally built by the United States Bureau of Reclamation to facilitate transportation of materials for the Glen Canyon Dam, which lies adjacent to the bridge just 865 feet (264 m) upstream. The two-lane bridge has an overall length of 1,271 feet (387 m) with a deck 700 feet (210 m) above the river, making it the one of the highest bridges in the United States. The bridge was the highest arch bridge in the world when completed in 1959.

The dam and bridge are in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, as is the Colorado River under the dam and downstream to Marble Canyon, Arizona.

1. Post-processing – Image editing to enhance the photo closer to what the eye “saw.” Images in this series are selected within a day or so of being edited and are either posted at the time or scheduled for posting at a later date.
2. Glen Canyon Dam Bridge – Wikipedia