Sunrise and Halos

2009-10-23 21:10:41.000 – Mike Finnegan,  IT Observer

“Good Morning, Sun!”

This morning I awoke to something I haven’t seen in quite a while up here – a sunrise. It is finally that time of year when both the sun and myself look out over the Presidentials at the same time without me having to wake up earlier than normal. The other upshot to this is the immediate alertness it brings. Rolling out of bed and stepping into a world of just-below-freezing temperatures and 30 mph winds will wake you up pretty quick, but it is also enjoyable. This is in contrast to times in the winter to come when it is -20F and blowing 100. Although this certainly wakes one up, it is a bit more testing at times.

Most of the rest of the day was spent inside on this computer trying to set up a server in the valley. Heading outside for observations, I found winds to be extremely low, even calm at times, with visibility over 100 miles and friendly clouds in the sky. I even saw a double halo, an optical phenomena I have only seen one other time up here. Because of the beautiful scenery outside, it was difficult to come inside to work, especially since we couldn’t see outside. I know I have the greatest office view of just about anywhere, but it turns out that glaze ice had covered the windows the previous day. As has been mentioned in comments before, glaze adheres to surfaces quite strongly, and this was the case on the windows as well. Even with the sun and warming temperatures, the ice held on and blocked our view of the outside world nearly completely. I’m not too concerned as rain is quickly on the way and the ice will soon disappear, but so will the snow. That I am not as pleased about.

Mike Finnegan,  IT Observer