Category: natural wonders

Epic G 5 Geostorm And Northern Lights, May 10, 2024

Peter Engelmann, May 18, 2024

On the evening of Friday, May 10,  2024, a dream for many people came true. Seeing the aurora borealis, the mysterious Northern Lights. An extraordinary solar event made it possible. Northern Lights appeared not only in  Northern Latitudes but in many places from San Francisco to Italy to Lviv.

The reason was the most intense solar storm in decades. A barrage of CMES (Coronal Mass Ejections) and Solar Flares launched clouds of charged particles and magnetic fields toward Earth. This led to the strongest solar storm within the last two decades and probably created one of the strongest displays of aurora borealis in the past 500 years according to NASA. https://science.nasa.gov/science-research/heliophysics/how-nasa-tracked-the-most-intense-solar-storm-in-decades/

NASA said this storm was so strong it was only paralleled by famous events in 1958 and 2003. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center warned about the upcoming storm because solar storms can seriously affect satellites, and power grids and endanger the health of astronauts. However, unlike the Carrington Event (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrington_Event), no serious outages or damages were reported.

Therefore this epic geo-storm became an event for enthusiastic nature lovers, scientists, photographers, and filmmakers. Since mobile phones are more light-sensitive they show the aurora borealis better than the naked eye. Furthermore, pictures with mobile phones and posted on social media showed us the broad variety of the ever-changing otherworldly Northern Lights. 

There also is scientific value to this. The extraordinary event produced for scientists highly valuable material they will now study for years. NASA is collecting the pictures taken by enthusiasts around the globe for research (https://aurorasaurus.org/).

The storm reached the highest level G5 and happened in the midst of the most activity during the 11-year cycle of the sun. Astronomers have also been following huge sunspots for months now.

How to know if Aurora Borealis is happening?

The extraordinary G5 event triggered the interest of many.  People who missed the Northern Lights would love to see them. One way to keep informed is to check the Space Weather Forecast and its Aurora 30-minute forecast ( https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/aurora-30-minute-forecast) It might be necessary to do some research to properly understand the page, but there are numerous YT videos about aurora borealis out there. Please don’t compare it too much with the weather forecast. Compared to meteorology space weather forecast is relatively new and there are limited measurement instruments out there. Scientists are still learning. Thus the first thing we need to learn is a lot of patience. I also recommend reading astronomer forums on social media regularly  But how do you know an aurora borealis is happening at your place? Is it worth driving or walking in the middle of the night? I can only tell what I did: When I learned about the possibility I checked a photo-webcam side every 10 minutes on my computer. I detected the aurora borealis first on the Zugspitze-Webcam in Bavaria. You might want to watch out for webcams looking towards the North. Because in the Northern Hemisphere, you usually see them in the Northern sky and vice versa in the Southern Hemisphere.

What are the conditions for watching the Northern Lights?

Of course, it has to be dark. Not completely but you need a dark sky. May 10 was great because the moon was there but no half- or full-moon. And you need a mostly clear sky. There are also good opportunities for even very creative and impressive pictures with some clouds or a thunderstorm. But the Northern Lights don’t shine through clouds. Fog or dust doesn’t work. A veiled sky with a strato nimbus cloudscape doesn’t work.

Where to watch the Northern Lights?

People make expensive trips to Norway to watch the Northern Skies. This is not the issue here. What can you do to see the Northern Skies if they appear in your place? First of all: find a dark place. These mobile phone pictures let the Northern Lights appear brighter as they are. Nearly everyone uses long exposure times. But it is a great experience to see them with the naked eye in the first place. It is possible to see the Northern Lights in big cities, I saw the first time a red Northern Light in the middle of Berlin in 2000. But as darker as better. A field, a mountain, or a coastline is great (it is not necessary to get to a higher elevation, but of course, conditions are often better because the air is cleaner with less dust).  If you go out to the countryside a flashlight is important. Astronomers often use a red filter in front of the light, because the eyes need to adapt to darkness to see better and red light is less disturbing. Take your time to adapt to the situation. The other thing really important is a free horizon, particularly a free Northern horizon. If you have a lake nearby – perfect! Go to the south end of the lake and look to the north.

How to photograph the Northern Lights?

There are countless tutorials out there and if you are fine with the quality of mobile phone pictures it’s quite easy. Of course, a tripod or a stable position is an important prerequisite.

I don’t have a manual or guidelines, but the most important question is knowing what you want. Do you want realistic pictures or a more artistic,  impressive, maybe even psychedelic impression? Do you want just to have the Northern Lights in the frame or an interesting foreground, a special composition? The possibilities are endless. 

If you head for better quality a bigger camera is good to have. In an ideal case use a fast lens. I used aperture 2,8 to 4. Of course ramp ISO up but it’s not necessary to max it out. The Northern Lights are often strong enough and you can avoid unnecessary noise. I heard exposure times of 20-20” seconds are recommended. I did shorter (at the cost of having some noise in my image) but it depends. Remember that if you do exposure times longer than 30 seconds the stars or the moon become stripes due to Earth’s rotation. I did shorter.

What’s important is to be aware of Focus: Auto Focus in some cameras doesn’t work properly in darkness! I set the focal length close to infinite, after some unsharp pictures.

One really important setting is to shoot in RAW if possible:

There is an interesting thing about Northern Lights: White Balance. Some people say around 4000 K but I found that the Aurora Borealis is a unique light source. If you shoot in RAW you can play with White Balance, Hue, and Saturation in post-production and get the best results. I encourage you to do this and unlock the full potential of pictures.

One last tip: As the Aurora Borealis often appears fast and is constantly changing preparation of the right settings is good and do as many pictures as you can. There is a lot of variety here. The slide show shows different facets of the May 10 storm:

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https://youtu.be/RcXOJHe05ok?si=nAVtgmVDDM9vRLFU
by Waldmeister Categories: Astronomy, natural wonders, Photography Tips And Tricks, UncategorizedTags: , , , , , ,

Record Snow, Chaos, And Winter Wonderland

That was an unexpected start to the winter. Used to often warmer winters over the last years the tons of snow on the First Advent in the region North of the Alps and Austria had an American feeling of real winters in the North or simply the times before climate change, when cold winters with lots of snow were normal.

On December 1, 2023, a 5B Weather Situation and an air mass limit led to new record snowfall in Upper Bavaria. In only a few hours a thick layer of snow stopped trains and airplanes around Munich, causing over 90 traffic jams and many blackouts on Saturday, December 2.

A surprise in the morning: A thick layer of snow on the table.

There was so much snow that even on December 2, an emergency state in the capital of Bavaria lasted. One reason is that every weather event is different: In this case, the snow was wet and lasted on branches of trees. Some trees feel or parts of the trees broke apart. Therefore police and first responders had a lot of work.

It began in the afternoon hours on December 1 when the rain turned more and more into white blobs. The evening hours saw intense snowfall. It was snowing and snowing and in a few hours, the landscape was completely under a thick layer of white. That was too much for winter services to cope with.

In the morning hours of December 2, it was clear that it would take a lot of time and effort to clear streets, garages, and gardens from the mass of snow. Snowing didn’t stop before late afternoon. A cold night followed. On Sunday the weather calmed but it became even colder.

That first advent will be remembered as a true Winter Wonderland dream. Frost, the thick sheets of snow and ice created fantastic scenery in Bavaria and in the Alps.

Due to the nature of this weather event where snow often was attached to trees and other things it formed interesting sculptures.

With a little imagination, the fields were filled with strange creatures and an endless variety of forms.

Warmer temperatures and a cold night led to these interesting effects.

The trees were veiled in sheets of snow, ice, and frost. In one place there was an ice-curtain.

Here is a little red contrasting the white:

Antennas weren’t spared.

This fence had a lot of frost crystals.

The early morning hours are the best time to capture Winter Wonderland scenery. The cold air is very clear and a deep blue sky contrasts the white trees and fields.

It is always a good idea to bring some elements into the picture that add to the atmosphere as old barns or houses.

An attraction is small streams that are not yet frozen. If the water is warmer it creates often a thin veil of mist which looks great when illuminated by the sun.

by Waldmeister Categories: natural wonders, Seasons, Severe Weather, Uncategorized, Winter

Blautopf, Blaubeuren – A Location For Romantic Legends And Fairy Tales

by Peter Engelmann, August 10. 2022

Read in German

Have you ever been looking for a motive for presenting the German romanticism in pure form? The Blautopf lake near Blaubeuren in the Swabian Alb is such a motive.

The Blautopf Lake is the second largest karst spring in Germany and serves as the source of the river blue.

Visitors see a magical blue and green water, often changing its color. It is like a giant eye or portal to another world.

What else do we need for a romantic fairy-tale setting? Right. A hammer-smith and a medieval town. It’s all there. Across the blue lake of the Blautopf is a hammer-smith with a cafe and an information centre for tourists. Nearby is the city of Blaubeuren with a famous abbey. There are plenty of half-timbered houses.

Last but not least, ruins of castles sit on the top of hills above the valley.

The Blautopf and Blaubeuren are in the middle of a broad valley not far from Ulm, the biggest city in the neighbourhood. It is a popular tourist destination.

Real fairy tale Europe: The Hammer-Smith

Romantic Imagination

No wonder Blautopf lake has been an inspiration for many folk tales and romantic stories. Nix regularly stole the sounding line when researchers tried to make measurements.

The karst spring became prominent in the 19th century. This was the era of romanticism with writers as E.T.A. Hoffman and painters as Caspar David Friedrich.

Eduard Mörike, a famous German novelist and poet, incorporated many tales from the region in the romantic novella “Das Stuttgarter Hutzelmännlein”. It is a story about a journeyman travelling from Stuttgart to Blaubeuren. One folk legend is about “Die Schöne Lau”, a mermaid, and her husband, a male water-nix. She couldn’t laugh, and he punished her by confining her to the blue lake. In the end, the landlady of the Nonnenhof Inn came to her help.

Modern scientific discoveries in the region are often even more fantastic than the rich imagination of romantic writers.

The sun illuminates the magic pool

One Of Germany’s Most Impressive Water-Cave Systems

Officially, the spring basin is 22m deep, but this is not the end. Blautopf is the end of an incredible cave system. Divers use the Blautopf lake as an entry point for expeditions into the epic cave system “Blauhöhle”. It’s indeed a portal to the other world.

Cave-diving is a dangerous sport, and there was a tragic event here in 2003. There is a society, the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Blautopf, which explores the cave system. The water cave was discovered in 1960-62. Later, researcher and diver Jochen Hasenmayer made incredible discoveries. Most parts of the cave are under water but there are huge domes, which are dry, underwater lakes and huge stalactites. Speleologists are fascinated by this secret subterran world which still holds many secrets. Til today, this is a dangerous territory and there is no access for the public. However there are amazing documentaries about expeditions into the cave system as From The Blue, Into The Dark, which are highly recommended.

Reflections on the still water surface, underwater plants, light and shadow. A mysterious place.

Practical Guidance

The best time for photography and videography is in the morning hours during summer. This is a motive which looks better when the sun is shining. The impressive blue color is a result of the nanoscale limestone particles. They are densely distributed in the lake. The particles cause a raylight scattering effect.

You might want to consider also autumn for a visit. The trees are mostly deciduous trees. That will make a wonderful color palette with the magic blue Blautopf lake on the one side and the red and yellow colors of the leaves.

The Blautopf is easy accessible. It is a 25 minute walk from the train station in Blaubeuren. Blaubeuren is approximately 16 km from Ulm. The train ride is around 12 minutes from Ulm. Trains come frequently. Stuttgart is approx 80 from Blaubeuren. There is a huge parking space close to the Blautopf.

A flaltly leads around the Blautopf lake. From there there are many different perspectives of the blue water and the hammer-smith.

Having surrounded the Blautopf the trail leads straight into the medieval town Blaubeuren.

Close to the Blautopf: The Blaubeuren Abbey. Inside there is museum and the historical bath house of the monks. If there is still time the URMU, the Urgeschichtliche Museum, is another highlight in this amazing town. Traces of human presence in the Swabian Alb go back to 40 000 B.C. and in the museum there are some rare relicts.
by Waldmeister Categories: natural wonders, Summer, Travel Tip, UncategorizedTags: , , , , , , ,

Majestic Mountains And An Enchanted Forest – The Schwarzwasser Valley, Austria

by Peter Engelmann, July 28. 2022

The famous Kleinwalsertal is a popular tourist destination in winter and summer. It belongs to the province of Vorarlberg. The Kleinwalsertal belongs to Austria, but you get only there from Germany. It is an Austrian enclave. The name Walser refers to history: First Settlement came from the South, from Switzerland. The valley with many scenic places begins near Oberstdorf. The main villages in the high mountain area are Mittelberg, Hirscheeg and Riezlern. At the end of the head of the valley is Baad. From the Kleinwalsertal, many trails lead into beautiful and spectacular high valleys with mountain pastures. One of them is the Schwarzwasser Valley. This fantastic valley offers many excellent motives for photographers and videographers. It’s a must-see for anybody interested in nature due to its outstanding geological formations and rich flora. There is a peat bog on the way to the Melköde Alm.

Wilderness Around The Ifen

A good starting point for a trip into the Scharzwasser Valley is the parking spot near the Ifen ropeway and the Auenhütte. A mountain road connects the bottom station of the Ifenbahn, Hirschegg and Riezlern. There is an excellent public transportation system in Kleinwalsertal. Buses come often, and there is a bus connection to Oberstdorf in Germany. A good alternative if you don’t want to use the car. The trail starts at the end of the parking space on the left side of the station. It leads to a lake. That lake is a reservoir for the snow-making facilities in winter. This lake shimmers in magical green and blue colours.

Near the trail between the lake and the mountain pasture Melköde (where you can eat and drink during the summer) lies a mountain forest. It’s an impressive pristine mountain forest on the left side of the trail. In some places, massive rocks look like ancient relics. Even though it is very comfortable to walk there – and of course, there are often many hikers here – it is a feeling of entering the wilderness.

The intimidating Hoher Ifen is towering above the valley. This mountain is another great sight and a very interesting geological phenomenon. The mountain is more than 2200 metres high. The rough table-mountain form is quite unusual for the alps. It is a spectacular sight with its wild and unruly rock face. It is easy to imagine that our ancestors might have seen it as a holy mountain or a ritual place. It is an option to go there, when there is not a blue sky but some clouds and mist. When shrouds of mist climb up the mountains or clouds play around, the wild nature of the Ifen region comes even more to light.

Hoher Ifen Plateau

The Pastures

The trail slowly ascends. If you are interested in taking pictures of the mountain-forest, there are many motives along the trail. At one point, a small path to the left leads to a sort of column with an icon. It’s worth taking a minute and getting there. The column is on a little hill in the mountain overlooking a wild area with some further great sighs.

Some minutes later, back on the main hike the landscape opens up. If you come here on a day when the last rain clouds disappear and there is an interplay of sunlight and clouds this is like a scene from “The Lord Of The Rings”. The waterfall behind the pasture adds to the impression. These mountain pastures are unique since they belong partly to the peat bog. Cultivation and farming goes on on here for a very long time. The Melköde mountain farm goes back to 1566. It has a long history, and there were also catastrophic events. Avalanches destroyed buildings a couple of times. On one occasion, 20 people died. The wilderness is always close, and one must respect nature all the time.

Alpine Meadow Near Melköde, Schwarzwasser Valley, Kleinwalsertal

The pastures are on a plateau within the Schwarzwasser Valley at an altitude of 1350 metres above sea level. That allows special light conditions and intense colours. The meadows are great motives.

Hiking towards the Schwarzwasserhütte

After a stop at the Melköde farming house and inn, the trail enters a more steep terrain. It’s not difficult to go further, but it is now a different type of trail and demands some endurance. The trail is in excellent shape, and one can only praise the fantastic work of the people caring for this great path into the mountains. But keep in mind it’s alpine terrain and not any longer a driveway. There are some sections where attention is necessary. When it is raining, this trail is slippery.

The quality of this valley is also because of the climate and weather conditions. The temperature is moderate in summer. There is a lot of rain in the summer and snow in the winter. These are good conditions for unique vegetation with a variety of plants. It’s still a reservoir of many protected plants.

Schwarzwasserhütte, Alpine Lodge

The trail opens up again, and the rustically Schwarzwasserhütte comes into sight. That is a great place to take more pictures with fantastic views. On the left side, there are impressive grass mountains and on the other side, there is again the Ifen plateau. The Schwarzwasserhütte goes back to 1914. The German Alpenverein Sektion Schwaben runs this cosy alpine lodge. The Schwarzwasserhütte is a starting point for hikes toward the mountain peaks. Bear in mind that this is high alpine terrain and for trips to the Hoher Ifen sure-footedness is a must. But even a few metres from the alpine lodge, there are great opportunities to take pictures or videos. The alpine lodge is open in winter, too. There is accommodation too and a nice and competent team. Reservations are necessary.

But even if it is only a short stay there is enough time to take in that heavenly scenery. This is both a landscape of eternal beauty and the roughness of the wilderness.

Grassy Mountain

The Kleinwalsertal has a lot to offer. More spectacular destinations are the Breitenbachklamm on the German side and the Gottesackerplateau. This plateau, a geological formation is on the other side of the Hoher Ifen. Note: There is also a hike called “Schwarzwassertal” which leads down from the Auenhütte to Mittelberg in some guides. This is interesting too and is another gorge.

by Waldmeister Categories: natural wonders, Photography Tips And Tricks, Summer, Travel Tip, UncategorizedTags: , , , , , , , , , ,