Polar Vortex Acting Up, Are You Prepared?

Yesterday it was a very nice day. It was snowing but it was also warm enough to keep a small layer of snow on the ground. Between comfortable cold and warm, approximately two cm snow blanket stayed on the ground throughout the day. Then something happened later in the evening. I didn't notice, but I did hear some winds blowing outside. I didn't pay attention until this morning. When I came out this morning my car was totally iced. Immediately I thought of polar vortex because such a nice weather turned into a nasty one in a short period of time. Later in the morning I walked across the soccer field and out of sudden gust of wind was blowing snow everywhere. Just like that. It happened suddenly with the temperatures plunging as well.

I thought of last year's ice storm that lasted us for couple of weeks in Ontario Canada. Many residents were out of power from few days to couple of weeks and it lasted through Christmas. Perhaps, we should all re-think our gift ideas and everyone should consider having or giving out the winter emergency and survival kit for home. Perhaps, this could be more functional and thoughtful gift for Christmas.

Then if the polar vortex breaks up or starting to act up like we may be again for a long extremely cold and long winter. Is ice age coming? Makes you think when you hear on the news that nearly half of the U.S. is covered with the snow.

Here are some more information about the polar vortex, apparently now a new phenomena.

"CNN International senior meteorologist Brandon Miller answers a few pressing questions about this phenomenon.

What is a polar vortex? What distinguishes it?

The polar vortex, as it sounds, is circulation of strong, upper-level winds that normally surround the northern pole in a counterclockwise direction -- a polar low-pressure system. These winds tend to keep the bitter cold air locked in the Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It is not a single storm. On occasion, this vortex can become distorted and dip much farther south than you would normally find it, allowing cold air to spill southward.

How frequently does this polar vortex distortion occur?

The upper-level winds that make up the polar vortex change in intensity from time to time. When those winds decrease significantly, it can allow the vortex to become distorted, and the result is a jet stream that plunges deep into southern latitudes, bringing the cold, dense Arctic air spilling down with it. This oscillation is known as the Arctic Oscillation and it can switch from a positive phase to negative phase a few times per year. This oscillation -- namely the negative phase where the polar winds are weaker -- tends to lead to major cold air outbreaks in one or more regions of the planet."

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/06/us/polar-vortex-explained/index.html

How to Take Photos of the Moon? – Part 3: Digital Camera Settings

We know that weather is going to be good and you went out and spend thousands of dollars on your new digital camera equipment, now you need to know settings on your camera to take nice close up photo of the moon.

This tutorial is very simple. All you need to know is how to change metering mode and exposure on your camera. Refer to your manual. However, this is what you need to look for.

If you have SLR camera, then the camera most likely has three metering modes: evaluative [square brackets with circle with dot in the middle], partial [square brackets with circle without a dot] and center-weighted average metering [just a bracket without a circle and dot].


For taking photo of the moon you will need to set your camera to partial metering mode. This mode is effective when the background is much brighter than the subject or darker, in our case it is darker, and the moon is brighter. The partial metering mode covers fewer than 10% of the viewfinder area at the centre. These modes are usually changed using knobs on the camera, at least in my case on my Canon EOS 20D.

If you have point-and-shoot camera, than most likely you have the following three metering modes that are usually changed using menus: evaluative [square brackets with circle with dot in the middle], center-weighted average metering [just a bracket without a circle and dot] and spot [square brackets with circle without a dot] metering. The spot metering in point-and-shoot camera is same as partial metering in SLR. This is in reference to Canon EOS 20D and Canon PowerShot SD600. The spot metering meters the area within the spot AE point at the centre of the LCD monitor.

In addition to all above you need to find out on your camera how to adjust the exposure. Standard exposure level is when the level mark is in the middle or at zero.

Easy Digital Camera Settings for Taking Photo of the Moon
[0] Set your camera to Programmed Mode P where Av and Tv is automatically adjusted, however, still letting you set all the parameters as asked below. You can do it manually, but why not take the advantage of the camera’s intelligence and save yourself a time. Do not try Fully Auto Mode.
[1] Set up your camera on the tripod or stable object to support your arms.
[2] Set to ISO 200. You do not need higher than that, as the moon is already very bright. Higher ISO will make photo grainy.
[3] Set or ensure that the AF focal point is on the centre of the view finder.
[4] Set the metering mode to Partial on SLR or Spot on Point-and-Shoot. A very important setting, otherwise, the moon will be one big bright ball.
[5] Set focal length to 300mm or 400mm. This is if you have any of the lenses with that focal length, or set to maximum on your lens.
[6] Set Exposure to -1. You may want to experiment with this depending how bright the moon is, some times you may go as low as -2.

Note the Following
Av the Aperture priority mode - is the lens opening
Tv the Shutter priority mode - is the shutter speed
In the P Programmed mode these are adjusted automatically.


REFERENCES
[1] Moon Photography: How To Take Photos of the Moon - Handy Tip
[2] A Bit of Knowledge: How To Take Photos of the Moon - Handy Tip For SLR Digital Cameras
[3] How to Take a Picture of the Full, Half or Crescent Moon? – Part 1: Moon Calendar & Weather Conditions
[4] How to Take a Picture of the Full, Half or Crescent Moon? – Part 2: Digital Equipment Required
Document Release: 0; Document Last Modified: March 03, 2009

How to Take Photos of the Moon? – Part 1: Moon Calendar & Weather Conditions

Soon as the skies are clear and the moon is very clear, full moon, half moon or crescent moon, people around the world get their digital or conventional cameras to take pictures. However, they yet to find out at the time of developing that all you can see is just a bright round object on the black sky. This is in fact a good start. The fact that you took your camera and wanted to take a picture of the moon is an excellent first step. Now let see, what you can do better.

What Weather is the Best for Taking a Photo of the Moon?
It does not take a genius to figure out that you need clear skies in order to take pictures of the moon. However, don’t be disappointed when there are clouds, because sometimes the wind does a little help. In a matter of time, wind can move clouds out of the way, and there is the moon you want to snap a photograph of. It happened to me many times, and sometimes with clouds being on the way, the photo can be even more spectacular. But if there is no wind then you are in bad shape and you will have to wait for the next time.

When you are looking for taking pictures of the moon, it is a good idea to get yourself ready ahead. Check out the lunar cycle for the moon phases, and check out the weather forecast. Then you need to find out where on the sky the moon is going to be and when. Yes location is important, last thing you need is that you cannot see the moon because it is behind the buildings, and when it emerges out of them, the clouds show up – yes some times bad luck can follow us.

Let’s repeat then, you will need lunar cycle calendar, local weather forecast, location on the sky, location from the ground and the time. Don’t be surprised if you see sometimes moon during the day, as I was. I thought that moon was only for the nights.

Excellent resources to start: Kalendar 365 and Sky View Cafe
For weather you can always drop by The Weather Network or in the Google search type ‘weather your location’.

Read Part II: How to Take a Picture of the Full, Half or Crescent Moon? – Part 2: Digital Equipment Required

REFERENCES
[1] Moon Photography: How To Take Photos of the Moon - Handy Tip
[2] A Bit of Knowledge: How To Take Photos of the Moon - Handy Tip For SLR Digital Cameras
Document Release: 1; Document Last Modified: February 25, 2009