The possibility of trace fossils were soon put on the table. The origin of these odd features is a question that may not be answered with the technology we have on Mars today. However, most experts is leaning towards a geological process, which is probably a safe bet.

I have made several 3D models from the Curiosity images lately, and gave this one a shot. And I am quite happy with the result.

I used 11 images acquired on Sol 1923 for the model with no pre-processing

. The 11 images were loaded into a professional photogrammetry software to generate the point cloud. After that all images were used to generate the texture for the 3d model.

Most cranes gather at the “Trandansen” location in the south end of the lake. This is because of all the food, mainly grain, put out in this area in order to feed the birds. This is done to keep them away from the fields around the lake where they can be a burden to local farmers. At the same time creating a tourist attraction that is well worth checking out, and it is not only cranes that find the food appealing. Here are also a large number of swans, ducks and geese.

Trandansen is a view point and information center. The cranes often come close to the fence that visitors must stay behind, but they can also be some distance away. For good close-ups take a long telephoto (I had a 600mm) or rent one of the sheds that are set up. But you must sit in the shed for 19 hours before you can get out …

This year the cranes arrived record early, and the number was 23000 at the most. I had planned my visit there to be on April 13, 10 days after the peak, so I was afraid there was no cranes left. Luckily for me the weather was still rainy and windy and as many as 4,000 still remained when I pulled into the parking lot.

The next day however was sunny and the number quickly fell to 2,000. With the sun comes the favorable winds, and two days later the crane season 2014 at Hornborgasjön was officially declared to be over. All in all I was happy, next time I’ll try to get there when there are 20000 cranes present.

Besides, there are many other things to look at in the area surrounding the Hornborgasjön lake, which is a nature reserve with abundant bird life all year round.

There are several species of crane, these are Common cranes (Grus grus), one of only four crane species not red-listed and one of only two species commonly found in Europe. They have migrated from as far as North-Africa, and this is just a quick stop on their way to breeding locations around Scandinavia.

Click to see more photos of the bird life around Lake Hornborga.

. This is the place were I grew up, a small community at the Fosen Pensinula north of Trondheim.

On an evening walk, just before sunset, I encountered a flock of sheep. This particular breed, officially called Old Norwegian Sheep, has become more and more popular in this region in recent years and is different from the normal white sheep in several ways. The Old Norwegian Sheep is a small primitive type of sheep which in old days inhabited Norway and the rest of Scandinavia, including Iceland and the Faeroe Islands
. Remains have been found that are 3000 years old.

The sheep is small, with fleece varying a lot in colour. It is perfectly built for this climate and can stay outdoors the whole year. It also has a more natural instinct regarding predators. I could see that for myself when approaching the scattered flock. Their first reaction was to run away and then come together as one large group as a natural defence against the enemy. This strong flock instinct have proved efficient against predators like bear, wolf, lynx and wolverine, with almost no loss at all.

In this case they soon rejected me as any danger, and soon became very curious. When I reached for something in my bag they all came running towards me to see if there was any goodies to be handed out. Especially now at wintertime the farmer will have to give them some additional food, and at the same time he will try to achieve a certain degree of contact for them not to be too wild.

There are many local names for this kind of sheep, like “utgangersau” (outdoor sheep), “ursau” (Original sheep Or Old sheep), wild sheep and “steinaldersau” (stone age sheep). All names indicating the old origin of the breed.

The meat has very little fat, and taste more like roe-deer and reindeer.
They are indeed a photogenic bunch, adding a lot of colour to this rough but beautiful landscape.

This weekend I visited Sirdal about two hours by car from Stavanger where I, to my surprise, experienced my first snowfall of the season

. In addition, it cleared up with sunshine from a cloudless sky.

Today Sirdal is one of the most popular winter resorts for people living in the Stavanger region, offering both alpine resorts and hotels. There are several trails for cross-country skiers as well.

Cabins can be found all over the valley, some are for rent but most are owned by private people or by companies.

If you come in the tourist season, try to be here early in the morning or in the afternoon. Out of season you can also risk encountering queues, but usually the wait is much shorter.

Empire State Building is located at 350 Fifth Avenue, between 33rd and 34th Streets. Here is also the entrance and the big lobby.

The lobby is three stories high and features an aluminium relief of the building. From here you can find your way to the elevator that takes you up to the observation deck.

There is actually two observation decks here, the main deck is located on the 86th-floor and offers 360 degree panoramic views of the city. A much smaller deck is located on the 102nd floor. You must purchase a separate ticket for this.

As I said, the queues at the busiest season is legendary. First you have to stand in line to get into the building, then to take the elevator up from the lobby, then to buy a ticket (it is highly recommended to buy tickets on the internet before you arrive), a new line for security check, queuing to the second elevator and finally a queue to get out of this elevator and on to the observation deck.

Apparently there is more money to be made in selling tickets to the observation decks than what comes in from renting office space in the building. No wonder they try to squeeze as much people through as possible…

The Empire State Building was completed in 1931, and was the first skyscraper with more than 100 floors. It is built in Art Deco style, and was for a long time the tallest building in the world. The building was named after the nickname of the State of New York, The Empire State.

On a nice clear day the long wait and large crowds is well worth the trouble. Manhattan is literally at your feet. I came here last February and had no difficulty to walk around the deck and relatively undisturbed take my photos. It was of course a little cold in the winter, but the air was clear and the visibility excellent.

See more of my images from New York City.

The bill is grey, while like the flamingo their pink colour is a direct cause of their diet; a mix of crustaceans, aquatic insects, frogs, newts and very small fish. The feeding is done by swinging its bill from side to side while walking forward. They often feed in groups.

Nests are built in trees or shrubs, often mangroves, where they can lay 2 to 5 eggs.
Roseate Spoonbill is not classified as a threatened species.

Things are about to change though, NASA is busy building the new Orion spacecraft as well as a new launch system capable of reaching further
. SpaceX is sending their Dragon to the ISS, with more private companies to follow. Robotic probes are investigating Mars and the outer planets and much more. Some private enterprises are even talking about mining asteroids and sending people on a 500+ day mission to Mars

. It is indeed an exciting time ahead for space nerds.

In that respect a ticket to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex may not be the best investment in order to learn about the future of the space industry, as it’s main attractions is the Apollo and pre-Apollo hardware. But to learn about the future you must know the past.

I don’t remember many details from my visit in 1987, so I dug up some images from that time to see what had changed. Below I have listed a few.

First of all the huge Saturn V now have been moved inside the impressive Apollo/Saturn V center, opened in 1996. It’s old location was just south of the Vehicle Assembly Building. Other Apollo memoria in the center includes the Apollo 14 command module, an unused Apollo command/service module and an unused Lunar Module.

Another highlight of the recent visit was the Observation platform, from where the visitors can have an unobstructed view of most of the launch facilities. I don’t recall that as a part of the tour in 1987.

The Visitor Center Complex has of course been modernized since 1987, but the Rocket Garden looks much the same as it did back then. What has changed more is the way people dress…

The Vehicle Assembly Building, or VAB, was used to assemble launch vehicles from 1968-2011. The VAB is still the largest buildings in the world by volume. The VAB will in the future be used to prepare commercial launch vehicles and for NASA’s new Space Launch System.

The VAB doesn’t seem to have changed a lot, there used to be a different symbol though were the NASA logo is placed today.

Currently under construction at the Visitor Complex is the Space Shuttle Atlantis display, unfortunately I missed that as it opens later this year.

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is of course not only a museum, but also features exhibits and displays, two IMAX theaters, bus tours of the spaceport, and the Shuttle Launch Experience, which simulates a ride into space with a space shuttle. The one day I had available was not nearly enough, as there was still things I didn’t have time to see or try out.

Recommended!

More images from my visit here.

Some say this is partly because of Steven Spielberg’s movie “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” from 1986, but no doubt this site would could have become famous anyway sooner or later. It was also chosen as one of the controversial “New Seven Wonders of the World” in 2007.

It has not always been a well known destination though, in fact it remained hidden from most of the world for more than a thousand years until Johann Ludwig Burckhardt, a Swiss explorer, disguised himself as an Arab scholar and entered the city in 1812. Other western explorers followed in his footsteps.

From around 312 BC Petra was the capital of the Nabataean kingdom before it was occupied by the Roman Empire in AD 106. Several structures are from the Roman era. As an important trade and commerce center Petra continued to grow until an earthquake put it in ruins around AD 663. Petra was abandoned after Saladin conquered the Middle East in 1189, and it became a forgotten city.

The main entrance to the ancient city is from the east through al-Siq. dark, This is an impressing, narrow gorge only 3–4 m wide and 182 m high at some places. The gorge was formed from a split in the sandstone rocks, and also served as a waterway. Transport through al-Siq and Petra is normally done by foot, but you can also hire camel, donkey, or horse.

Coming out of this gorge you will be met by the most famous sights of all in Petra; the Al Khazneh, also known as “the Treasury”. It was carved out of a sandstone rock face somewhere between 100 BC and 200 AD, and the rumors said that the urn atop the structure contains a hidden treasure, hence the name “Treasury”. Bullet marks can actually be seen from where Bedouin travellers have tried to expose the non-existent treasure. It is still not clear what the actual purpose of Al Khazneh has been.

The outer Siq or Street of Facades is a continuation of al-Siq. This is a large canyon with tomb facades, all in colourful sandstone.

The Street of Facades ends at the Roman Theater. Originally built by the Nabateans but later enlarged by the Romans, the amphitheater could seat up to 7000 people.

Opposite the Roman Theater are the Royal Tombs. It is not known for whom the tombs was made, the name was given because of their large size compared to other tombs in the area. Ad-Deir or “The Monastery” IS the largest carved monument in Petra. Like the Treasury it has a small interior compared to the grand facade. There are more than 800 steps to walk up a hill to the Monastery, which can take over an hour.

There are today several threats to this archaelogical city, mainly caused by erosion due to flooding and failing drainage, insufficient restoration of the ancient structures and unsustainable tourism. Projects has however been started to help the conservation and preservation of Petra.

You can see more inages from Petra in the Jordan Photo Gallery.

The first building at the observatory was built in 1937, and it was officially opened in November the same year. The observatory is run by Stavanger Museum, and the main task is catching and ringing of wading birds and passerines. Stavanger Museum is also organizing all other scientific bird ringing in Norway.

The observatory had some troubled times during WW2 as the German occupants fortified the area and destroyed parts of the buildings. And early in the 1950s the Norwegian Air Force set up a firing and bombing field within the catching area at Revtangen. The observatory cabin was therefore moved closer to the main road, where it is located today. This is also the main area for catching and ringing of passerines.

Catching and ringing of waders take place on Revtangen itself, a small shoal extending into the sea at the westernmost point on Jaeren. At low tide this is a rich food source. Between 1000 and 5000 migratory birds are tagged here each year, and almost 300 different species have been observed in the area.

Some other photos I shot there this autumn:

Their lineage can be followed back to the time of dinosaurs, when the redwood species of that time were the dominant trees in the forests of North America.

Redwood species

Today there are tree remaining species of the Sequoioideae family; Giant Sequoia, the Coast Redwood and the Dawn Redwood.

The Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) or just Sequoia, is found in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. In terms of volume these are the largest trees in the world, with a record of 95m height and 17m in diameter. The oldest ever found is 3.500 years old.

Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia) is the least tall of the redwoods, but still can reach a height of 60m. It is native to China and was only known from fossils until it was rediscovered in the Sichuan–Hubei region in 1944.

The Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) or just Redwood is today only found on a narrow strip along the Pacific coast of Northern California and the southwestern corner of Oregon. Redwoods are the tallest trees in the world, with a record of 115.6m belonging to a tree known as Hyperion in the Redwood National Park. The oldest has been found to be about 2.200 years old. Typically the lifetime reaches 500-1000 years. Extensive logging has since 1850 reduced the original old-growth redwood forests by as much as 95%.

Coast Redwoods depend heavily on the coastal fog to supply much of the tree’s water needs, and the tallest and oldest trees are found close to streams and where there are regular fog. They dont like salt spray and wind, so few redwoods grow very close to the sea. Reproduction is done either by seed or by sprouting from the root, fallen branches or using burls.

Muir Woods Redwood Forest

I shot these images during a visit to the Muir Woods National Monument earlier this year. This is a lovely old-growth coastal redwood forest just 19km north of San Francisco. The area receives a regular supply of coastal fog, as well as heavy rainfall during the winter months. The relative inaccessibility of the area have protected the forest from beeing cut down. U.S. Congressman William Kent purchased much of the land to protect the redwoods and mountain, and in 1908 it was declared as a National Monument by President Theodore Roosevelt. Kent named the monument after naturalist John Muir, who helped to establish the National Park system.

The tallest tree in Muir Woods is 79m, with an average age of the trees between 500 to 800 years, the oldest probably more than 1.200 years.

If you are in the San Francisco area I really recommend a visit to this park, or any of the other Redwood forests in California

.

Photographers should bring a wide angle lens, and also a tripod if possible. Remember, these trees are massive and the ground receives little sunlight, so you may have to push those ISO values up a bit. Another challenge may be to set the correct colour balance, as the sunlight passes through a great deal of green canopy.

Internet link:
National Park Services: Muir Woods