Friday, July 04, 2008

Head in the clouds

I'm now in Munich and have just given my talk to the string theory group. The researchers here have been doing some very similar work so we have plenty to discuss which is always enjoyable. It seems that tonight this discussion will be taking place mostly in a beer garden which should be a lot of fun.

Yesterday night we sat on the runway in Mallorca for some time while thunderstorms delayed our departure. We missed most of them but still had some fireworks up at 30,000 feet. Some fine cumulonimbus showing their muscles. I'm expecting similar in the flight next week from here to Beijing so I will try and get some storm cloud photos if possible.

In the meantime, here is another shot from Cargese, with the light from the rising moon over the mountains, and Jupiter glowing bright, you can also make out the Milky Way stretching from the middle to the bottom right. In this photo Jupiter is not terribly sharp, but with a good camera and a lens of order 100mm it was possible to see two of her moons with a 20 second exposure.

Jupiter and moonrise
Tomorrow I'll try and get out in Munich for some photography too and will post anything noteworthy.

4 comments:

helensotiriadis said...

ah, the stars. i remember them...

beautiful, clear shot!

Unknown said...

The difference really is shocking. Even that photo was taken next to a village with lots of light around. I've only once seen the sky from a truly isolated place, in the middle of Western Australia, that was stunning!

Anonymous said...

Not forgetting wilderness lodge in NZ.

Was that the same night a pack of dingos ran over your sleeping bag?

Unknown said...

Ah, true, the wilderness lodge too.

I don't claim it was a pack of dingos, just the one.