Friday, October 23, 2009

Photos | Space, wind and fire

dock_smoke_0002
In the Cocoa area Wednesday to get a tune-up on my new set of wheels, I noticed some billowing clouds to the north. When I got closer, I realized that the smoke from a brush fire and the clouds in the distance were combining for an interesting scene. At a boat ramp along the Indian River in Sharpes, I took some photos of the smoke from the controlled burn on the northern end of Kennedy Space Center.

clouds_plume_0004
Pileus - the horizontal, wispy clouds that often form over cumulonimbus clouds during strong updrafts - also appear over plumes from forest fires (as in this case) and volcano eruptions.

cap_0006
Smoke hangs low over the Indian River.

VAB_0013
The forest managers apparently started another fire south of the first and closer to Kennedy Space Center. At the start of the blaze, a small amount of smoke appears just north of NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building.

stacks_wide_0033
The brush fire smoke and the smoke stacks at Florida Power & Light's plant between Cocoa and Titusville contrast sharply.

splash_0054
My last stop was at Kennedy Point Park in Titusville, where the wind was blowing the smoke quickly across the river and over the mainland.

sun_0065
A thick smoke shroud overhead is one of the few times a photographer can zoom in and photograph the sun without the aid of special filters and sunglasses.

No comments: