Harvest Moon, Corn Moon, September Moon and the Autumn Equinox

Posted on by farlane

September's "Corny" Moon
September’s “Corny” Moon, photo by Kevin’s Stuff

The Autumnal Equinox took place at 11 PM last night:

An equinox occurs twice a year, when the tilt of the Earth’s axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun, the center of the Sun being in the same plane as the Earth’s equator. The term equinox can also be used in a broader sense, meaning the date when such a passage happens. The name “equinox” is derived from the Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night), because around the equinox, the night and day are approximately equally long.

Today is the full moon, and as it’s the moon closest to the equinox, it’s known as the Harvest Moon. The Harvest Moon is also known as the Wine Moon, the Singing Moon and the Elk Call Moon.

Kevin took this shot last year at the James C. Veen Observatory of a September moon that was actually the Corn Moon as last year had an early October Harvest Moon. Check this out bigger in his Astronomy 2009 slideshow.

Painted Rocks at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, photo by onewildwest.

Here’s a beautiful shot of the amazing colors of the rock at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, likely taken from the Pictured Rocks Boat Cruise. GORP’s page on the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore says:

The name “pictured rocks” comes from the streaks of mineral stain that decorate the face of the sculpted cliffs. The ramparts of the cliffs are composed of 500-million-year-old Cambrian sandstone of the Munising Formation. The Munising Formation makes up much of the angled slopes and formations, such as Miners Castle. Closest to lake level is the Jacobsville Formation, a late-Precambrian mottled red sandstone that is the oldest exposed rock in the park. Covering all is the 400-million-year-old Ordovician Au Train Formation, a harder, limy sandstone that serves as a capstone and protects the underlying sandstone from rapid erosion. The streaks on the cliffs occur when groundwater oozes out of cracks. The dripping water contains iron, manganese, limonite, copper, and other minerals that leave behind a colorful stain as water trickles down the cliff face.

Check it out bigger in Brent’s slideshow.

More Pictured Rocks from Michigan in Pictures!

Autumn

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Autumn

Autumn, photo by mroli.

A lonely road somewhere in Michigan…

Check it out bigger in Oliver’s Here and There slideshow and check out some great fall color tour ideas from Michigan in Pictures.

Michigan Birds: The Belted Kingfisher

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Kingfisher... again

Kingfisher… again, photo by palofmine2.

All about Birds says that the Belted Kingfisher is:

A common waterside resident throughout North America, the Belted Kingfisher is often seen hovering before it plunges headfirst into water to catch a fish. It frequently announces its presence by its loud rattling cry.

It breeds along streams, rivers, lakes, and estuaries with banks for nest holes. The breeding distribution of the Belted Kingfisher is limited in some areas by the availability of suitable nesting sites. Human activity, such as road building and digging gravel pits, has created banks where kingfishers can nest and allowed the expansion of the breeding range.

Check this out bigger in Renee’s Birds slideshow and also check out more of her Kingfisher photos.

More Michigan Birds from Michigan in Pictures.

Moon Shadow Self Portrait on Isle Royale

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Moon Shadow Self Portrait

Moon Shadow Self Portrait, photo by yooper1949.

We’ll stay outside and under the stars with this photo taken across from Pickerel Cove Campground in Isle Royale National Park. Carl writes that he was trying to photograph the bright stars filling the sky while keeping his shadow out of the shot. He finally decided to go with it (to great effect in my opinion).

Check it out bigger in his Under the Stars slideshow.

Light During the Storm

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Light During the Storm

Light During the Storm, photo by Schlef.

Seth writes:

This is Point Betsie lighthouse near Frankfort, Michigan. As we came in from fishing for the night, a storm was kicking up. I headed up to the lighthouse to find a few other people watching the storm roll in; however, once it started to rain and lightning nearby I was left to myself. The clouds are being completely lit by a lightning strike.

For anyone who is a regular around the area, this was during the ridiculous wind storm during the beginning of September. Winds were between 20 and 25 mph and gusts up to 35 mph for over two days straight.

The winds were absolutely ridiculous. Check it out bigger in his Northern Michigan slideshow or view it on black.

More night photos from Michigan in Pictures!

Would the Loch Ness Monster be considered an invasive species?

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

The Loch Ness Monster

The Loch Ness Monster, photo by Eridony.

Because the Emerald Ash Borer isn’t very photogenic, we’re taking a break from Invasive Species Week to bring you a reminder of another kind of invasion that’s about to descend on Michigan: the fabulous Grand Rapids ArtPrize! 2009 brought all kinds of incredible sights to the city, including the Nessie Project. See a bunch of them in our ArtPrize Video from 2009.

ArtPrize starts next Wednesday (September 22) and continues through October 10th. We will once again be On Location with Absolute Michigan, and we encourage you to attend and to share your photos from ArtPrize in the Absolute Michigan pool and also to the ArtPrize Promotion Group for anyone who wants to share their photos & video of ArtPrize installations and the accompanying hoopla with bloggers and online media outlets.

Be sure to check this out monstrously massive and see it and many more in Brandon’s ArtPrize slideshow!

Yesterday: Sand. Today: Zebra Mussels & Quagga Mussels

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Zebra Mussels

Zebra Mussels, photo by cedarkayak.

“In terms of the whole food web, I don’t think there’s any question that zebra and quagga mussels have had the largest impact on the biological communities of the Great Lakes”
~Tom Nalepa, Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory

Today’s villain in our Michigan Invasive Species series are Zebra Mussels & Quagga Mussels. That feature on Absolute Michigan goes in depth about who they are and what they do so I won’t go on and on here except to say that as someone who walks the beaches of Lake Michigan often, there’s few things that make me sadder or madder than these little bastards. They’ve trashed the food chain, spawned all manner of nasty plants & algae and they slice up your feet.

Todd writes:

This stretch of beach on South Manitou Island was once filled with sugary white sand. Today, the beach is covered in razor sharp zebra mussel shells. I knelt to take then photo, and when I stood, my knee was bleeding in 3 places.

Check this out background big and in his Lake Michigan slideshow.

End Of the Day … for fishing on the Great Lakes?

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

End Of the Day

End Of the Day, photo by Rob the Photog.

This week is Invasive Species Week on Absolute Michigan and Michigan in Pictures and today on Absolute Michigan we took a long look at the 800 pound gorilla of invasive species in Michigan, the Asian carp. These frightening fish have made their way up the Mississippi River and can weigh up to 100 pounds, grow to four feet in length, eat voraciously and make rabbits look like pikers when it comes to reproduction. Via TIME Magazine:

“They just eat so much,” says David Ullrich, executive director of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative. “They’re like the locusts of the river.”

That’s what makes them so dangerous to the lakes. Asian carp aren’t direct predators, but they eat plankton, which knocks out the bottom layers of the food chain. If they were to successfully establish themselves in the Great Lakes and start breeding, they could utterly disrupt the existing ecosystem, potentially starving out the trout and other native fish that make the Great Lakes a tourism hot spot.

Estimates put the Great Lakes sport and commercial fishery at $2.5 to $7 billion. While the loss of this would be a terrible shame, the thought that one day you wouldn’t see photos like this of a parent and child enjoying Michigan’s amazing fishery seems worse to me.

Rob feels this is one of the best photos he’s ever taken. Check it out bigger and in his slideshow.

And if you can, make sure you write your representatives to tell them how important it is to stop the Asian carp in Chicago!

Invasive Species in Michigan

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Shell Cluster

Shell Cluster, photo by johndecember.

All week we’re going to be featuring invasive species – who they are, what they’re doing to our lakes & land and how folks are working to stop them. See the articles as we post them on Absolute MichiganMichigan in Pictures and !

I actually already blogged this photo to Pandora’s Locks: How Invasive Species got into the Great Lakes on Absolute Michigan. The book is a must-read for anyone who wants to learn how the way the shipping industry operates guarantees that invasive species will spread.

You will note that John has TWO invaders here, the zebra mussel and the Asian ladybird beetle. Check this out bigger in John’s slideshow!