Author: mvschulze

Observer

Transit of Mercury – 11/11/2019

On By mvschulzeIn Uncategorized5 Comments

Perspectives: Whenever Mercury passes slowly between the Earth and the sun, (a reletively rare event,) the small planet can be seen as a tiny dot, not visible without a light reducing filter and magnification.

                                Above: This is pretty much how the sun looks without a proper filter.                                               


Above –> The sun is about 93 million miles (150 mil. km) away from Earth, and Mercury 67 million miles (108 mil. km) away at this time. It is the tiny dot at the lower left just starting its apparent crossing, called a Transit!  What is unique in this image is the smokey jet plane contrail (exhaust) seen in front of the upper part of the sun …about seven miles away. 

 

Above –> 6 1/2 hours later, the transit is ending as the planet, at the 3:00 o’clock position to the right, moves past the sun’s disk. (ZOOM IN TO SEE THIS.)

Thanks for viewing. Comments are always welcome and zoom in for a closer look. M:-)

Autumn 2019, At The Edge Of The Bay

On By mvschulzeIn 1800's, Beach, Close Up, Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Rufuge, History, Jersey Shore, Lighthouses, New Jersey, Photography, sunset, Telephoto2 Comments
Above: Drainage canal in the Forsythe Wildlife Rufuge, with “Island Beach (Barrier Island) State Park” 3 mi. (4.8 km) across Barnegat Bay
Above, Empty Osprey nest after successful mating and three new chicks off to winter habitats.
Above: A few minutes later, as seen in the far right, second image  …the town of Barnegat Light, New Jersey, (Long Beach Island (LBI)) and its 160 year old historic lighthouse, 5.2 mi (8.4 km) distant.

 

Thanks for viewing, comments are always welcome, and zoom in for a closer look. M 🙂

Featured

Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, 55 Years Ago Today – Part Two

On By mvschulzeIn 1960's, Adventure, New York City, Photography10 Comments

Arriving very early this day, we all parked our cars in the growing line behind the barricades on an entrance ramp to the toll plaza, …under the overhead sign in the second image below.  Finally, down by the booths, and after “Mr. First,”  the lights turned green and we were on our way.

The view was spectacular, with Manhattan off to the left; Coney Island, Lower N.Y Bay and The Atlantic Ocean to the right. The car toll was $.50 each way.  Today, 2019, tolls are collected westbound only ranging between $19 to $12.24 with E-ZPass!

(More information on the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, can be found on Wikipedia, which we support with donations.)

Thanks for viewing, zoom in for a closer look, and comments are always welcome. M 🙂

 

Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, 55 Years Ago Today – Part One

On By mvschulzeIn 1960's, History, Photography3 Comments
October 21, 1964, I was fortunate to be there, …in New York City, walking around the Staten Island side of this brand new and, at that time, longest suspension bridge in the world. In an hour or two the ribbon cutting would facilitate the official opening, and we would be among the first to cross.

“New York’s Finest” on foot, and on motorcycle, as the latter start one final sweep of the roadway just prior to the official opening.

See Part Two, as we prepare to cross the new bridge, which after 2018 became correctly and officially named as the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge with two z’s, finally conforming to the explorer’s actual name.  Giovanni va Verrazzano was the first documented European explorer to sail through this waterway, in 1524! 

Thanks for viewing, zoom in for a closer look on these original 35mm film images, and comments are always welcome. M 🙂