Picture(s) of the day....

[NewcastleFalcon]

Quite a rare sight....an Aeroplane

Took a picture of it here

er...it may be just out of shot

Never mind with Flightradar24 I can tell you that it was this. Look it up quick enough and you can identify any "unidentifiable flying object"

but this is it!

Regards Neil

[myglaren]

Quite a rare sight....an Aeroplane

Took a picture of it here

Wide-angle lens Neil?

[NewcastleFalcon]

Just my little point and shoot camera, tiny dot very high in the sky with no vapour trail with with just the screen on the back of the camera to "hit the target". Yes too much for it

The other camera which is still out of batteries, has a through the lens view which it better for hitting the target and considerably more zoom-in capacity (18X) so I would have done a better job with that

Regards Neil

[mickthemaverick]

Intense magnification revealed a possible black dot in the centre of the yellow circle and ringed with my black ring. If not your plane Neil keep an eye out for aliens at the charging points today

Neil's work edited

[CitroJim]

It's on borrowed time as all production of sodium lamps worldwide has now ceased A shame as I much prefer the warm sodium glow over the harsh white of the modern LED...

Am I right in thinking that as they "warmed up" the sodium lamps changed from a red glow turning to an orange before the full yellow emerged

As Mick said...

Yes, that was the 'Penning Mixture' glowing - a set of gasses that would ionise easily and get some warmth into the lamp to get the cold and often solid sodium melted and vaporised so that the lamp could properly get going...

I'm fortunate to have a sodium lamp here - an ex-MK streetlight head - and I love to switch it on every now and again and relive old times and watch it go from a dull red glow to a full brightness sodium glow,,,

They were very efficient but suffered from having no ability to render any colour as the output was at one wavelength...

[CitroJim]

Intense magnification revealed a possible black dot in the centre of the yellow circle and ringed with my black ring. If not your plane Neil keep an eye out for aliens at the charging points today

Oh Mick, you do make me giggle

[NewcastleFalcon]

Not knowing about these things apart from sodium bombing across the surface of water, and being less reactive than Potassium, I imagine sodium vapour is good wholesome stuff which doesnt leak out of the enclosure it is in in a street light!

Regards Neil

[myglaren]

They were very efficient but suffered from having no ability to render any colour as the output was at one wavelength...

Which is allegedly a bonus for astronomical photographers/photographic astronomers - (gadgies that take photos of stars)
Apparently the light pollution from them is inconsequential as the spectrum they use is invisible to digital cameras - as I say, allegedly.

[CitroJim]

I imagine sodium vapour is good wholesome stuff which doesnt leak out of the enclosure it is in in a street light!

It's not the nicest of stuff Neil but in a streetlight bulb it's contained in a very tough Dewar Flask (like a Thermos Flask) as it's under pressure, the bulb runs very hot and the being in a flask insulates it both from the cold, to keep the necessary heat in and helps the Penning Mixture do it's job effectively to get the lamp to full brightness quickly...

The inner glass of the Dewar Flask is borosilicate - Pyrex - so that extremes of temperature can be coped with and to allow a good seal on the wires going into the bulb. Borosilicate has a very low coefficient of expansion which is why Pyrex doen't shatter when you fill a cold bowl with boiling water...

[CitroJim]

They were very efficient but suffered from having no ability to render any colour as the output was at one wavelength...

Which is allegedly a bonus for astronomical photographers/photographic astronomers - (gadgies that take photos of stars)
Apparently the light pollution from them is inconsequential as the spectrum they use is invisible to digital cameras - as I say, allegedly.

Yes, precisely Steve... The single narrow spectral line emitted by sodium is very easy for astronomers to notch out using a simple filter.

New LED lights are a right 'mare in this respect...

[mickthemaverick]

I have had a long hard search for a decent 18000 post congratulatory picture for Steve and sadly nothing has jumped out at me. There are the usual railway locos and ships available but I decided that as I couldn't find a single picture worth posting for 18000 I would post 18000 very small pictures which when put together give a very pleasant picture:

18000 piece jigsaw

Well done Steve!!

[myglaren]

I take it you have counted all 1800 of the creatures in the 'photo'?

I would have taken my usual lazy way with a photo of ants

Or crabs

[mickthemaverick]

18000 Steve, of course!!

[NewcastleFalcon]

Have a beer on me and make a post,

Bit of a trappist day so far on the OTCL so what better than

break the vow of silence

Regards Neil

[Hell Razor5543]

I know it is not a picture (but a LONG YouTube clip), but it appears that all of the Ospreys at Loch Arkaig have started their migration. One regular watcher, Geemeff, has produced a beautiful series of clips, from when Louis first returns to the eyrie, the eggs hatching, the Bobs fledging (they were nicknamed 'Bobs' as, when they only a couple of days old, they could not hold their heads steady), and so on. Her choice of background music is inspired; I challenge you NOT to smile at "Sugar Plum Ospreys" or "Hall of the Mountain Queen".