It is much fun to witness astronomical phenomena, and even more fun to experience their effects firsthand on us and our environments. Milestone events such as solstices, equinoxes, and eclipses present such opportunities. I made an earlier post about the summer equinox of 2016 (https://th. Here some observations about the winter solstice of 2019 as its dawn unfolded on Millcreek, Utah.

Looking Due South at the Solstice Dawn

Two aspects of this photo are important. The first is that all the action in the sky is to the south and southeast. After all, today and the next few days are the farthest south the sun will get in the northern hemisphere. Due south is demarcated by the utility poles.

The second important factor is that photo was taken 5 minutes before the beginning of official dawn and 36 minutes before official sunrise. Those cirrus clouds had some serious altitude in order to catch sun rays. In other words this moment was 5 minutes even before official sunrise in Denver, Colorado, 355 mi (571 km) to the east.

In the world view, the sun was directly overhead at high noon in South Atlantic Ocean 838 mi (1348 km) east of Rio de Janeiro and 6830 mi (10,990 km) southeast of me.

The green semaphore is at 3300 S and 1100 East. The low ridge on the south horizon is the east-west trending Traverse Mountains, the boundary between Salt Lake County and Utah County.

Winter Solstice Sunrise from Brickyard Road

The peaks are from right to left: Broad Forks Twin Peaks, Sunrise Peak, and Dromedary Peak. For a more complete description of these summits, please see Questing for Wonder in Utah during a Summer Solstice Dawn.

Oquirrh Mountains

As I was just beginning the 4-block walk back to my house, I was struck by the pink reflection on this peak in the Oquirrh Mountains. The range is due west from my position and the sunrise behind me. The future tense is significant because this moment is 27 minutes before sunrise and roughly an hour before the sun clears the mountains top behind me. The pink reflection on the Oquirrhs is from the clouds to the east. For clarification please see the next two photos. The cirrus clouds in this scene have an aurora feel to them. The two white dots above the mountains are airliners on their final northbound approaches to Salt Lake International Airport.

Sunrise over the Brickyard

No sooner had I taken the previous photo when I turned around to this scene in the southeast.

Sunrise through the Trees

The silhouette of the crest of the Wasatch Mountains is is visible in the bottom of the scene. The chimney is a relic of the old brickyard. This moment is still 13 minutes before official sunrise.

Grandeur Peak Just before Winter Solstice Sunset

If I walk out my front door, which faces north, to the middle of the street and face east, Grandeur Peak greets me. What makes this photo special for me is that this sunset light is the farthest south it can get. I do love to stand on Grandeur Peak which becomes hikeable after the Fourth of July.

Winter Solstice Sunset

I took this photo from my front porch. If you look carefully, you will spot the silhouette of a cat in the bottom center of the picture. My neighbors love cats and have had this feline weather vane for as long as I can remember. The Oquirrh ridge line is visible in the bottom left of the frame.

Final Note

I recorded these photos as JPEGs with a Nikon Z 6 with the Nikkor Z 24-70mm f4 S lens. The mode was P (programmed auto), picture control was standard, white balance was A Auto, and the ISO was limited to 12,800. For post processing I utilized Lightroom on a color calibrated monitor and did tweak highlights, shadows, whites, blacks, and texture. I did not enhance the colors in these photos.