tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25911845287020246392024-11-01T03:31:43.078-08:00Studying Physics and Enjoying Life in AlaskaLee Petersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797637794562432755noreply@blogger.comBlogger169125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591184528702024639.post-24511523484099922042012-01-11T09:09:00.000-09:002014-01-13T19:11:20.421-09:00Done with this oneHi readers! This blog is moving/has been moved to: http://lwpetersen.com/blog/.
Additionally I have a photo site at lwpetersenphotography.com complete with store!
Sorry for the inconvenience, but so far I am happier in that location. I'll leave this one up for a while, but all the old posts have been transferred. Come visit.
Thanks!
LeeLee Petersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797637794562432755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591184528702024639.post-86684689155107142042011-11-27T14:22:00.001-09:002011-11-27T14:41:27.337-09:00Happy late Thanksgiving! - and pics from homeWe had a good holiday here, friends at the cabin enjoying food and playing games. I hope family and friends all had a good long weekend too. I hear it's been pretty warm back in New England. Temperatures in the 50's and 60's at the end of November is just not cool. Hopefully more snow comes soon. Here in Fairbanks it has been almost exclusively far below 0°F for over 3 weeks. Our road Lee Petersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797637794562432755noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591184528702024639.post-1750807183381583322011-11-16T08:01:00.001-09:002011-11-16T11:40:10.139-09:00When the weather outside is . . .I woke up this morning and went to the outhouse; it was pretty freaking cold outside. Cold and dark. The Sun is only out for a little over six hours today (rise at 9:29 am and sets at 3:41 pm). More importantly, it is cold! Depending on where in town you are it's somewhere between -36 and -42 right now. It doesn't really matter if you're measuring in Celsius of Fahrenheit, since they are Lee Petersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797637794562432755noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591184528702024639.post-56774630553926037412011-11-14T10:56:00.000-09:002011-11-14T11:03:57.008-09:00Ode to the cold
It's cold! Cold is here! It is -14° F right now as I'm writing this; two degrees less than when I woke up this morning. Since the beginning of October we have slowly crept up to about 10 inches of snow, the temperature hasn't gone above freezing for almost a month, and we now have 40 below in the immediate forecast. In fact, there is not one day in the week forecast above 0° Lee Petersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797637794562432755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591184528702024639.post-82432880457910188112011-11-01T08:56:00.001-08:002011-11-22T20:10:02.316-09:00Happy NovemberSorry it has been a while since my last post. Work and school have been busier than ever. I hope that in a couple weeks it will start to slack off a bit, since I'll be mostly done with one of my classes for the semester. Besides work, not much has been happening, so you're not missing anything by my lack of posts. Here is the biggest update in picture form:
Over the month of October, Lee Petersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797637794562432755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591184528702024639.post-38292989327487888472011-09-28T13:16:00.000-08:002011-09-28T13:17:35.245-08:00Aurora time lapseIt's not great quality, but here's a short time-lapse I made last night when the aurora was out. It was a nice little show, not fantastic, but nice. It was kind of cool because it was partly cloudy and the clouds were moving too. This view is from our driveway.
Lee Petersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797637794562432755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591184528702024639.post-57387828397692164292011-09-26T18:25:00.000-08:002011-09-26T18:25:14.694-08:00Blue, white, and yellowAfter 2.5 days of working on Classical Mechanics homework, then half a day of grading, Jason made me go out and take pictures of things. It was really a nice day, and its been almost three since I've really gone outside, so it was nice. The weather has been getting chilly here. We had our second serious frost this morning and I think we are seeing the last of the autumn leaves. It's good to Lee Petersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797637794562432755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591184528702024639.post-52471446314756733132011-09-26T15:21:00.001-08:002011-09-26T16:35:21.126-08:00Fingers crossedLet's have a clear night tonight!
From spaceweather.com:
GEOMAGNETIC STORM: A strong-to-severe geomagnetic storm is in progress following the impact of a coronal mass ejection (CME) at approximately 12:15 UT on Sept. 26th. The Goddard Space Weather Lab reports a "strong compression of Earth's magnetosphere. Simulations indicate that solar wind plasma [has penetrated] close to geosynchronous Lee Petersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797637794562432755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591184528702024639.post-70621514251965108892011-09-24T10:40:00.000-08:002011-09-24T10:49:16.064-08:00Ode to AuroraYesterday was exciting because NPR did an equinox post on their picture show and used some of my aurora photos. Here's a link to the post:
NPR: Auroras on Autumnal Equinox
The title is a little misleading since two of the three photos were from the August 29th storm and one was from earlier this month, not really on the equinox. It's a fun post anyway. Here's a bunch more photos I've taken inLee Petersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797637794562432755noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591184528702024639.post-31491978097808842642011-09-20T18:45:00.000-08:002011-09-21T08:38:11.746-08:00Equinox
The leaves around the house are almost totally gone!
It is here again, the autumnal equinox. The equinox officially occurs on September 23 at 9:04 am UTC. As it passes us by, normal length days begin to fade away as well. Nobody can stop it from happening. For us this means that winter will be here within weeks. It is a solemn occasion since summer is so brief here, but there is a hiddenLee Petersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797637794562432755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591184528702024639.post-28427440584649215322011-09-06T17:36:00.000-08:002011-09-06T17:36:31.415-08:00Oops, we went to Denali againIt's getting harder to stay away because the park is so incredibly awesome. Of course, September is here which means its full on fall foliage season for most of the interior of Alaska. Some places we've been to are already past peak. Luckily the park encompasses a lot of different climate zones, so you don't have to go far to find the fall colors.
These shots are from the start of the Park Lee Petersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797637794562432755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591184528702024639.post-7083144693599296582011-09-01T16:33:00.005-08:002011-09-01T16:43:31.275-08:00Stovetop
Stovetop, a photo by Lee Petersen on Flickr.
This is the stove inside the home of Fannie Quigley in Kantishna, Alaska, a town encompassed by Denali National Park. A good glimpse into her life can be read in her Blueberry Pie recipe:
"First, in early August pick five gallons of blueberries as they ripen on the hillside in back of your mining claim. Before the creeks run dry in the summer,Lee Petersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797637794562432755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591184528702024639.post-74879679982965333252011-08-31T14:15:00.002-08:002011-09-01T11:12:12.799-08:00Wandering through the Alaska Range
Jason and I took off for the mountains south of Delta, part of the eastern Alaska Range on Friday. My guidebook, Outside in the Interior: An Adventure Guide for Central Alaska
describes the hiking in the area as "limited only by your imagination". I'm quickly discovering that this is really the only way to describe most backcountry travel in this state. I think we both expected more of a "Lee Petersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797637794562432755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591184528702024639.post-87216355003263007952011-08-31T11:16:00.000-08:002011-11-29T08:32:39.752-09:00A great day and nightFairbanks has been having absolutely perfect weather the last few days: 65 and sunny. On Sunday a few clouds scattered the sky, it was totally gorgeous and the air felt awesome.
Kate and I went for a walk in Creamer's Field. The cranes are still flying around practicing their oh-so-awkward landings. Also, there is a dead moose carcass there, although now it is mostly bones.
Three sandhill Lee Petersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797637794562432755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591184528702024639.post-594873726942329392011-08-25T12:24:00.000-08:002011-08-25T12:24:33.476-08:00WalkingYesterday I walked a lot. I walked to campus from home (about 5 miles) since Kate got called to babysit at 1:30 in the morning and had to take the car. It was a gorgeous morning and the air felt great.
Ballaine Lake on another beautiful day in Fairbanks.
I've been walking and running pretty frequently lately since I decided I'm going to "run" (walk) the equinox marathon on September 17th. Lee Petersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797637794562432755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591184528702024639.post-64572643973531445202011-08-23T08:59:00.002-08:002011-08-23T09:00:54.057-08:00Deborah, Hess, and Flock of Cranes, a photo by Lee Petersen on Flickr.It's that time of year again when the sandhill cranes and geese are on the move and the mountains are coming out of the clouds to play. It's pretty exciting because of all the wonderful views offered from Fairbanks, but sad because soon it will be very, very cold.Lee Petersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797637794562432755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591184528702024639.post-20051111378960931282011-08-21T08:44:00.003-08:002011-08-21T08:53:22.685-08:00Oh no . . . it's all over!I go back to work tomorrow. Vacation is over. The sky gets dark again. I saw a sky full of stars the other night. We are losing almost 7 minutes of daylight every day. The Sun is noticeably lower in the sky even though we still have almost 16 hours of daylight every day. Just think, in 4 months we will have less than 4 hours of daylight each day.
As of last Wednesday we have lived in Lee Petersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797637794562432755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591184528702024639.post-67460840858457495192011-08-07T12:27:00.016-08:002011-08-22T17:29:58.449-08:00Vacation from FairbanksWhat follows is a seven day road-trip through Alaska. There are a lot of pictures and this is a long post. You will want to come visit Alaska afterward. Of course, the nice thing about living in Alaska is that it's really easy to vacation in Alaska. I'm not posting all the pictures on the blog because there are too many (although I'm posting a lot). With about a thousand still to edit I Lee Petersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797637794562432755noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591184528702024639.post-19662435138531618712011-07-26T08:28:00.004-08:002011-08-25T12:33:37.948-08:00Denali National Park in the summer*I will be adding to the flickr set over the course of the summer. Check it out later. There are still a few hundred more pictures to go through at least!
Kate's parents, Dave and Sandi are in town and we took a little trip and tour in Denali National Park the other day. I'm not sure what I think the highlight of the trip was. We started at a little before 4 in the morning. Kate and I were Lee Petersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797637794562432755noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591184528702024639.post-39460840655643791262011-07-17T21:23:00.001-08:002011-07-17T21:33:45.199-08:00Been a while . . .
The trees are enjoying the Sun and the blue sky, again. I love walking out the front door to this sight.
Wow, it's been almost 15 days since my last post. I haven't been busy, I haven't been working, I haven't been chasing down screaming kids or arguing grades with college students, I haven't been driving all over the state . . . I've been mostly sitting, staring, reading about glaciers, Lee Petersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797637794562432755noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591184528702024639.post-63770442243812421282011-07-03T13:39:00.002-08:002011-07-08T08:50:25.906-08:00An afternoon drive down the Richardson HighwayKate and I decided to head out for our first anniversary and drove south down the Richardson. We stopped to have a brief picnic by the Clearwater River, a spring-fed river that flows into the Tanana near Delta Junction. Thunder was rumbling to our north.
For some reason we haven't made the drive south of Delta yet, until yesterday. Every time we think of it we head the western route to DenaliLee Petersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797637794562432755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591184528702024639.post-28855699695270724982011-07-03T11:12:00.004-08:002011-07-03T11:27:23.281-08:00Do you have a better way to keep Russians out of your top secret military training facilities?Kate and I saw this gem on the side of the Richardson Highway.
Do you have a better way to keep Russians out of your top secret military training facilities?, a photo by Lee Petersen on Flickr.
"Every morning, when Alaskans wake up, one of the first things they do, is look outside to see if there are any Russians hanging around. And if there are, you gotta go up to them and ask, 'What are you Lee Petersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797637794562432755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591184528702024639.post-8879447771575482492011-07-01T14:39:00.000-08:002011-07-01T14:39:31.514-08:00Nighttime stormsThe clouds building to the east, light from the Midnight Sun, rain in the lower right corner, blue-darkened sky to the north, all around incredible lighting situation.
Rumbles of thunder shook the house for a while last night as some big storms moved to our south and east. It was about 10 minutes until midnight when I went outside to take some pictures of the giant clouds. The sunlight was Lee Petersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797637794562432755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591184528702024639.post-82102546209744591212011-06-30T20:13:00.001-08:002011-06-30T20:14:08.699-08:00After some rainBallaine Lake at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks. The weather finally cleared up after about 3 days of gloominess. It was nice to see some blue skies and sunshine again.
Fairbanks has been a little chilly and rainy as of late. The last few days the high temperatures were only in the 50's. This afternoon the clouds cleared up, the Sun peaked out, the sky turned blue and I went for a Lee Petersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797637794562432755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591184528702024639.post-70026702638536339992011-06-26T09:17:00.001-08:002011-06-26T09:27:38.348-08:00Finally A BreakThe fireweed is starting to bloom in the backyard.
When I posted a picture on flickr a couple of weeks ago my friend Jason said, "Finally new stuff. I thought you got eaten or something." It was just a result of the non-stop work Kate and I had to do for science camp. I can't believe how tough a job that was. Kids wearing me down all day long. Then I have to spend half the night getting readyLee Petersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797637794562432755noreply@blogger.com0