Anatomy of a cloud

Cloud panorama


When you reach a certain age you start to think that you've seen it all. All the kinds of weather that nature throws at you; the wind, rain and snow and all the shapes that rain clouds come in. Well, not so I my case. While I was setting up the measuring station in the El Leoncito National Park in West Argentina I did see clouds coming over and along the Andes montain range. And I did see that it started to look pretty menacing. There could be some rough and wet weather brewing. Fortunately it became clear a little later that the storm would pass North of me and so it did. You could hear some thunder, see a single lightning bolt, and there was a lot of wind. As the sun got lower and lower over the Andes, all of a sudden the cloud that by then had passed to the East was lit up yellow and orange by the light of the setting sun. I dropped everything, grabbed my camera and started snapping away. I have never seen such a sight before. I have seen some awesome skies over the Karoo desert, but this blew me away.
The picture is a panorama of three stitched photo's that give an idea of the extent of the rain cloud as it drifted away. Never say you have seen it all, because you may be surprised. Just like me!

Rob

It's a bird....

It's a bird....

I have been looking at the sky for all my life... Stargazing, checking the weather to go skydiving or glider flying. I never failed to see the many shapes that clouds come in.
The landscape of Holland is famous for its low hanging clouds as the old Dutch masters have painted so often. Holland is flat, no mountains are available to create the beautifully lens-shaped clouds of the Altucumulus Lenticularis family, like in this picture.
Being close to the Andes mountain range in Argentina as I write this, means that I am in the middle of this great Lenticular cloud factory. As the high winds get their wavy flows over and behind the mountains, the clouds form at the top of each wave. Constant winds cause stationary tops in the waves and therefore also stationary clouds: you will see these clouds for hours at the same position in the sky, only changing in shape or slowly dissolving.
Nature plays wonderful tricks in these shapes. One minute the lens in the picture was just that: a simple lens. The next minute it took the form of a dove. I was so lucky to be there and witness this phenomenon. The snowy peaks of the Andes formed the perfect backdrop for this scene.

Rob

Temporary home

Temporary home
Originally uploaded by Rob Millenaar.
The view of the Andes from the spot where I will be setting up the equipment is breathtaking...
It all started with a pleasant drive from San Juan to the El Leoncito location. All of a sudden an Andes vista opened up after passing the pre-Andes mountain range and upon entering the valley. Driving on, I had a view of the highest peak in America: the Aconcagua, just 40 meters short of 7000 meters high.
After passing the nice little town of Barreal I took a left turn heading for the El Leoncita National Park. Driving through lush green parkland you would not have the idea that you are at 2000 meters elevation. After climbing the dirt road I arrived at the CASLEO observatory, where I will live the coming weeks. Later that day I took this photo at the actual site where the measurements will be done. In the middle of a plane with small shrubs, and rimmed by relatively low hills, I will erect the antenna masts and set up the receivers. From there, for almost 180 degrees I have a gorgeous view of the Andes mountain range, including the second highest peak at 6770 meters, the Mercedario.
It will be hard to concentrate on the work at hand with so much impressive scenery around.

Rob

Tango!

PICT4589-1
Originally uploaded by Rob Millenaar.

After arriving in Argentina in the middle of the night I had the opportunity to stroll through Buenos Aires the next day. This is a city with many faces: the old and the new, the rich and the poor, the trafic, the parks with their blooming Jacaranda trees, and most of all the people. In some ways the city made me think of Barcelona.
I went to one of the many Tango and dinner shows and had a very plesant evening, talking to a guy from Puerto Rico and a lady from South Africa. We all enjoyed the show immensely. Naturally I took some pictures. All without flash of course. The flash would freeze up the moment and would kill the mood of the evening. Many photo's were unusable but I harvested quite a few images that do justice to the atmosphere that will forever linger in my mind.
Tomorrow I will continue on my journey to San Juan and then onwards to the site where I will stay for the next couple of weeks.

Rob

Meanwhile in Holland...

front porch
Originally uploaded by Rob Millenaar.

After getting back from Mileura, Fremantle and Perth I plunged into autumn in Holland. This year I skipped most of that colourful season. Now that I'm about to leave for Argentina I realize that I skipped large parts of spring and summer too.
In 2005 I will have travelled for more than 22 weeks and I will have visited 4 continents...
Argentina will be the last site that the reconnaissance team will visit in its quest to find the best place on Earth to locate the large next generation radio telescope, the Square Kilometre Array SKA. I have been to the Karoo desert in South Africa, the lush Karst area in China and the outback in Western Australia. In the coming weeks I will add the Argentinean pampa to the list. I'm full of expectations...

Test station in WA

Test station in WA
Originally uploaded by Rob Millenaar.

Many weeks have passed since my last post. The session at Dawodang in South China was successfully completed and I brought back a rich store of memories and photo's to back them up.

The equipment was flown back to The Netherlands, was made ready for the next session and sent off to Western Australia: the next leg of the journey that brings me to four continents within one year.

As I'm writing this I have been here at Mileura station in the Western Australian outback. What I would call a desert, being used to the green lushness of Holland, actually is arid shrubland. The flat terrain here is made of red soil dotted with bushes and small, gnarly trees. It is quite a contrast to where the measurement station was set up in China, but rather alike the landscape that I learned to appreciate in The South African Karoo. Standing on top of the scarce escarpments you can see for miles and miles; the 'desert' seems endless. It would seem that an empty region like this would provide the quiet environment in which a new radio telescope might flourish. I am here to back this feeling up with hard data. In the past two and the next three weeks the equipment will collect the much needed data. In the meantime I will soak in the impressions that the outback has to offer.

Rob

At Dawodang

Dawodang 1
Originally uploaded by Rob Millenaar.

A couple of days ago I arrived at the village of Tongzhou in the Guizhou province in Southern China. It is from here that we will make daily trips to the site where we do the SKA reconaissance measurements.
The site is situated on the edge of a Karst depression, which holds the village of Dawodang. A Karst depression was formed ages ago in limestone rock by dissolving the rock in water. The water seeped into the aquifer leaving impressive bowl shaped pits in the landscape. The hills are riddled with caves.
This is rice paddy country with intense green patches situated especially at the bottom of the depressions. The scenery is truly awesome; even after being part of this landscape for a number of days it doesn't seize to amaze me! This is Mother Nature at her finest...

Rob

The Great Wall

The Great Wall 2
Originally uploaded by Rob Millenaar.

The Wall is truly Great!

After arriving in a city of 13 million people in throbbing heat and after soaking in all these new impressions I was hoping for a quiet stroll along China's famous Great Wall; at least along a section of it at Badaling near Beijing. It started out different. The heat was still stifling, but the real trouble was the number of people who had gathered at the gate and were streaming up the wall. A colorful procession of sweating bodies was making it's way to up the wall, that was surprisingly steep at some places.
Another unfortunate thing was that the thick haze that was covering Beijing didn't clear up. Grand vista's of the Wall snaking through the countyside were not to be today. Despite these drawbacks we happily made our way to the top, continuously harrassed by peddlers trying to sell you picture books of the Wall - naturally I bought one. At the top all the tourists just turned around and went back. The Wall continues however and makes a sharp turn back in the general direction of where we came from. So, after our guide got us a 'I climbed the Great Wall' medal at the top, we decided to take that route and avoid the masses. It turned out that we now had a part of the Wall almost to ourselves. It was here I made the picture of an empty Wall, the way it must have looked like for most of it's many years. A truly Great Wall.

Rob

AMS to PEK

AMS to PEK
Originally uploaded by Rob Millenaar.

I'm on my way to China to do some more project work. First to Beijing and then to Guiyang in mid-Southern China.
The flight was uneventful, the in-flight movie boring, but the view from the window seat was awesome. Almost nobody cares to look out the window at night, but I always do. And I was rewarded by a magnificent moon that tried to rise but due to the aircraft's course never really got quite clear of the horizon. I made a series of shots that come out really well. The one here is just an example. It was hard holding the camera still, especially at longer focal lenghts.

More on China in the messages to come...

Rob

Reintroducing: bright colours!

!
Originally uploaded by Rob Millenaar.

The mission to the Karoo has been successul, both in a technical/scientific way and in more personal aspects. It has been wonderful living among such nice people in such a stunningly beautiful environment as the Karoo desert.
I've been back from the desert and its chocolate colours into a world with bright, saturated colours. You don't realise this until you experience the transition. The Liriodendron Tulipifera leaves in this image convey the contrast.
Now, we're getting ready for the mission in China. I expect much greener scenery there than in the Karoo. Each landscape brings its own natural wonders; I'm looking forward in anticipation.

Rob

On Pramberg

Pramberg
by Rob Millenaar.

On Pramberg

The farmer's son Mondré has been roaming the hills around here and he knew that we would enjoy a hike to the top of the Pramberg. Now, Pram is the Afrikaans word for tit and the reason for the name of the hill is obvious as it looks like a nicely formed woman's breast from a distance, complete with distinct nipple.
The hike was easy and worth the effort. Stunning views all around. I made a 360 degrees panorama from the top of the nipple, but the file is too large to post anywhere. Erosion has formed these hills over the past millions of years. The harder caprock, consisting of Dolorite, has protected the underlying softer rock until the layer becomes undercut and finally crumbles too, giving these slopes their characteristic shape.
On the top we found small pieces of quarz and, surprisingly, fragments of ostrich egg shells. Through the ages, Bushmen have used these eggs to store their water supplies in. It seems that they stored many of these on the top of this hill, where the remnants can be found to this day. Elsewhere complete eggs are found and Jan, the farmer and our host, has one intact egg in his collection.
The Karoo desert has many surprises in store for those who are willing and able to appreciate its beauty.

Rob

Hilltop Prey

Hilltop Prey
by Rob Millenaar.

Like anywhere else on the planet, life in the desert feeds the stronger creature. A cat-sized rodent, locally known as a Rock Dassie, found its end on a Karoo hilltop as a bird of prey, possibly a 'Witkruis' picked it up and devoured it here. Only the skull remained. Did it take the rest to its nest to feed offspring?

Rob

Witgat/Black Rock

Witgat/Black Rock
Originally uploaded by Rob Millenaar.

The desert is a place of many contrasts. I saw a bone dry place flooded after torrential rainfall, barren terrian, but also beautiful manifestations of life. The Witgat Tree that can be found in the arid regions of Southern Afica is such an example. The white bark contrasts with the black desert varnish that covers the rocks in this part of the Karoo Desert. It is hard to capture the black and white in one image.

Rob

Quiver Tree

Quiver Tree
by Rob Millenaar.

Quiver Tree, Kokerboom, Aloe Dichotoma

The Karoo desert holds many surprises, one of which is the beautiful Quiver Tree. The name derives from the Bushman's habit of making quivers for their arrows, by hollowing out the trunks. The soft inner fiber can easily be removed.
On a nearby hillside we see many of these majestic trees. Tapping the trunk of a live one brings out the sound of a heavy, sturdy object, full of water. The trunk of a dead one is feather light. The hike to the trees was worth the effort. Standing among these pre-historic wonders, surrounded by the empty desert, brings home the relatively brief time that man has walked among them.

A quick search on the web yields this informative site on the Quiver Tree:
http://www.livingdesert.org/plants/quiver_tree.asp

Rob

Sit back...

Sit back...
Originally uploaded by Rob Millenaar.

As evening comes, the sunset invites me to sit back and relax; take the scenery in. Despite the emptiness around here in the South African Karoo, there is so much to see. Early in the morning small birds fly, in the heat of the day lizards, beetles and dragonflies move about and the evening brings out other creatures. Swarms of moths are attracted by our lights.

Rob

In awe

In awe
By Rob Millenaar.

Karoo Thunder

The day is warm and dry in the Karoo, but in the morning signs of high cumulus castellanus were visible. Many times these harbingers bring what they promise: Thunderstorm.

The end of the afternoon comes with thickening clouds and thunder can be heard in the distance. Later, on the western horizon lightning can be seen as rain gushes down on the desert. Still far behind the mountains there seems to be no need to hurry to get the equipment safely switched off and tied down. In less than 15 minutes the clouds gather from all sides and the storm is upon us. Lightning all around and the wind picks up dramatically. The rain is not here yet but we see it coming rapidly. As the sun gets lower the scenery changes into drama I've never witnessed before. The empty deset bathes in an eery light and towards the mountains an awesome sunset unfolds.

Rob

Test station in the desert

Test station in the desert
By Rob Millenaar.

A week ago now, I travelled to South Africa. In the months ahead my job will take me to some interesting places around the world, and the first stop is in SA. I'm here to do radio measurements in the field. The 'field' in this case is the middle of the Karoo desert, a dry and empty place, very suitable for building a new kind of radio telescope: the Square Kilometre Array or SKA. There are more of such empty places on the globe and it is our job to find out which one is the radio-quietest.
In the past week we travelled from Johannesburg to the guest institute at Hartebeesthoek (Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Organization, HartRAO). From there we went for a 1000 km drive to the Karoo, taking our equipment with us in a trailer. At the site the antennas and receivers were set up and measurements started.
The colleagues have been telling us that the Karoo is bone dry and getting dryer now that the rainy season is over, as Autumn on the Southern hemisphere sets in. The second day in the desert we were surprised by torrential rain however, flooding large areas of the desert plane, and filling gulches and trail tracks. All-terrain vehicles are an absolute must in these conditions, and even these can get stuck in the mud, as we foud out. This first week brought us rain, sun, and strong winds. The desert looks beautiful and the weeks ahead promise to have much in store for us.

Rob

Six Antennas

For the SSSM project (SKA Site Spectrum Monitoring) I am about to embark on a site surveying mission to South Africa. The objective is to investigate the electromagnetic environment at this site in order to establish the suitability of the site for a large scale next generation radio telescope. In other words: how much man made radio noise is received at this particular site. Obviously, the less the better.
Therefore candidate sites are chosen from a number of very thinly populated locations at about 30 degrees latitude, North or South. After the Karoo desert in South Africa the measuring equipment will travel to China, Western Australia and finally to Argentina. About 4 to 5 weeks will be spent doing survey measurements at each site.
The picture shows the measuring antennas, just before they were packed for first shipment. In all six can be counted, five in the foreground and the sixth one in the background: the famous 25 meter dish of the Dwingeloo Radio Observatory.

Frogs in love

Frogs in love I
Originally uploaded by Rob Millenaar.

The brown frogs are having a ball in the pond. A couple of years ago we created a shallow section where fish have no access and where the tadpoles can grow up in peace. The frogs have since responded and produce frog spawn in huge blobs.
An occasional early green frog is grabbed by one or more browns, to no avail obviously. The green frogs will have their turn in May.

Hyperbole I

A very cold morning, with mercury falling down to 20 C below, brought stunning scenery. A waxing moon, whisps of fog and shades of steel blue. The photograph is one of a small series, centered on these snow covered mounds. See: http://www.flickr.com/photos/robmillenaar/sets/147584/

Having a cold spell *this* cold is a rare occasion in The Netherlands. We enjoy it while it lasts.
Rob

Dwingeloo Radio Telescope

Dwingeloo Radio Telescope,
originally uploaded by Rob Millenaar.

Last night, and through much of the day we have been getting the most snow this season. It makes for fairy tale scenery. As always the old radio telescope near my office looks really good dressed in snow.

Towering tulips

Towering tulips,
originally uploaded by Rob Millenaar.

It has taken me a while before I had the time to put this blogging thing together. I have been rather busy at work and at home. Nevertheless I've set up this Flickr photo site to serve the purpose of exposing my photo's to a larger audience than just my family, and to have a convenient means of combining web logging with pictures.
I will soon be travelling quite frequently and for longer than usual durations, so this may come in handy when I want to let everybody who is interested know what is, or has been happening. That is, as long as I can find a connection to the internet, which may not be easy in many cases.
The picture that goes with this message is one from last year. Now, during the last warm period the tulips have been sticking their first leaves out of the ground, only to be punished with a cold spell. I hope they survive.

Rob
Flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/robmillenaar/sets

Me in Cagliari, October 2004.