36 SKYNEWS •NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019
R
ASC WINNIPEG CENTRE MEMBERS are pretty good at keeping one another in-
formed about sky conditions. So on December 30, 2018, when one of our members
sent out a photo showing a rare display of light pillars over the city, the news spread
rapidly. We donned our parkas and snow pants, loaded our photography gear into the van
and drove off to have a look.
Our destination was a picturesque spot at a bend in the Assiniboine River, near our home
in central Winnipeg, where we could look north and west to catch the lights above a shop-
ping area on the opposite side of the river. It was warmish by Winnipeg winter standards
(–18°C), but even so, the legs of our camera tripod were reluctant to extend and tough to
level on the packed snow of our chosen hillside. Eventually, we succeeded in setting up and
captured the photo at right: a panorama comprising three 4-second exposures made with a
Canon EOS 80D DSLR camera (at ISO 800) and a 10mm lens set to f/5.
What we like best about this image is how each streak indicates the colour of the light
source below it. Light pillars form when flat, hexagonal ice crystals reflect the underlying
lights toward the observer. For this to happen, the crystals must fall in calm conditions
to maintain a relatively stable horizontal orientation; otherwise, light is scattered in many
directions and pillars don’t appear. A cover of thin cirrus cloud that night generated the
falling crystals that resulted in a glorious light show—and lots of pictures to share. ✦
Judy Anderson is a retired biology professor who loves the outdoors and is now trying to
photograph absolutely everything. Jay Anderson is a retired meteorologist and the former
editor of the Journalof the RASC.
WINNIPEG WINTER LIGHTS
by JUDY AND JAY ANDERSON
O
N JULY 16, 1969, more than 3,500 journalists from around
the world converged on the Launch Complex 39A Press Site
at Cape Kennedy, Florida, to witness the liftoff of Apollo 11, at
9:32 a.m., EDT. I was only a teenager, but I was there too.
Exactly 50 years later, I made the pilgrimage back to where
NASA’s history-making Moon shot literally shook the earth. I was
joined by five members of that huge crowd of reporters—Parks Mas-
terson, Kirby Kahler, John Slack, Bill Whitten and Ed Dempsey.
Initially, it felt odd to be among this small group of strangers with
whom I shared a deep connection, thanks to a single world-chang-
ing moment. Meeting now for the first time, we enjoyed an instant
rapport. The six of us wondered, where is everyone else? Probably
many of the Apollo-era journalists have passed away, while others
likely regarded the trek to Florida as too demanding or were unable
to travel at all.
Much has changed in 50 years. Of course, we were much younger
in 1969 (I was only 15!). Today, we’re senior citizens—relics, some
might say. And we brought our own relics as mementoes of that
long-ago special day. John carried the same camera he used for theAPOLLO 11 REVISITED
Returning to the site where history was made
50 years ago brings back a surge of memories for
one Toronto Centre member by DON CAMERONNOW AND THENReturning to the spot
where he watched Apollo 11 lift off for the
Moon on July 16, 1969 (inset), Don Cameron
scans the same launchpad exactly 50 years
later. PHOTOS COURTESY JOSÉ DE LA HERRÁN (INSET);
JOHN D. SLACK (BOTTOM)