David Blanchard
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davidblanchard.bsky.social
David Blanchard
@davidblanchard.bsky.social
Atmospheric Scientist, Ph.D., CCM. Chased by storms since 1981. Trail running, mountain biking, skiing. Astro, weather, and landscape photographer.

dblanchard.net/blog/
Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) on Sunday evening.

Nikon D850, 180mm, f/4, ISO 200, 120 seconds; single image.

Second image is a black+white negative which shows more structure in the tail.

#astrophotography 📷 #comet #nikonusa
November 11, 2025 at 1:20 AM
A mountain bike ride at Fort Tuthill in Flagstaff means we get to travel through the Cosmic Ray Tunnel at Sheep Crossing Trail. Yeah, complicated name but they wanted to honor both a great person and the historical nature of the underpass.

#mountainbikeing #flagstaff #arizona
November 9, 2025 at 3:30 AM
Rx burns meant we had to change our running plans at the last moment. Instead of Fort Valley trails (smokey) we did Rocky Ridge, Middle Oldham, and a portion of Upper Oldham. The recently realigned Upper Oldham is really nice!

#landscape 📷 #trailrunning
November 6, 2025 at 11:30 PM
Autumn colors have not yet hit their peak in Oak Creek canyon and side canyons. Another week?

#landscape 📷
November 6, 2025 at 12:41 AM
Was looking for autumn color in Oak Creek Canyon but also found many wildflowers.

#landscape 📷 #wildflowers
November 6, 2025 at 12:35 AM
Another image from Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) -- this time using the zoom lens at 500mm. Focus is just a bit soft -- operator error, of course.

Nikon D850, 500mm, ƒ/5.6, ISO 800, 30 seconds.

Bonus: gibbous waxing Moon.

#astrophotography
October 31, 2025 at 10:12 PM
Sometimes all you need to do is go out on the back porch to see some wonderful fall colors. The trees in the neighborhood are at peak color right now.

Sony RX10m4, 600mm (equivalent).

#landscape 📷 #aspen #fallfoliage
October 31, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Another trail run on Thursday in the Dry Lakes area north of Flagstaff. A few stands of aspen continue to show great color.

#trailrunning #landscape 📷
October 31, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Did a trail run on some of the newer trails in the Dry Lake Hills north of Flagstaff using Broadside -- Abalone -- Swell -- Brookbank -- Lunar Tide -- Swell -- Schultz Creek. Got to see a stand of colorful aspens along the way. Breezy but mild temperatures.

#trailrunning #landscape 📷
October 28, 2025 at 11:54 PM
Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) at 1858 MST 26 October 2025 from northern Arizona.

Nikon D850, Nikkor 180mm AI-s, f/4, ISO 200, 120 seconds.

#astrophotography
October 28, 2025 at 12:42 AM
Motion of Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) over a period of ~1 hour.

Nikon D850, Nikkon 180mm AI-S, f/4, ISO 200, 30x120 seconds.

#astrophotography
October 27, 2025 at 5:13 AM
A frosty morning at Schultz Tank in the Dry Lake Hills near Flagstaff, Arizona.

#landscape 📷
October 26, 2025 at 1:28 AM
Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) shortly after the end of astro twilight. As has been typical, the wide angle view picks up a lot of green airglow near the horizon.

This is a composite of two images: one tracking the stars/comet and the other untracked for the foreground.

#astrophotography #landscape 📷
October 25, 2025 at 4:55 AM
The Pleiades and Uranus with bands of green airglow: 18 October 2025.

Nikon D850, 85mm, f/4, ISO 200, 120 seconds.

#astrophotography
October 22, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Two comets in one evening (20 October 2025):

C/2025 A6 (Lemmon)
C/2025 R2 (SWAN)

Nikon D850, Tamron 35mm, f/2.8, ISO 200.
Additional details in Alt Text.

#astrophotography #landscape 📷
October 21, 2025 at 11:09 PM
Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon).

Nikon D850, Nikkor 180mm AI-S, f/4, ISO 200, 120 sec.

The original had numerous satellite tracks so I used the Remove tool in Photoshop and had it remove "wires and cables" and it worked--but did take out a few stars as well.

#astrophotography
October 21, 2025 at 12:39 AM
This is the motion of Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) over a period of 53 minutes.

#astrophotography
October 20, 2025 at 12:22 AM
Single image of Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) with numerous satellite tracks.

Nikon D850, 85mm, f/4, ISO 200, 120 seconds.

#astrophotography
October 19, 2025 at 10:38 PM
Went hiking in Oak Creek Canyon to find fall color and was surprised by the late-season wildflowers -- likely the result on big rains last week.

#arizona #landscape 📷
October 18, 2025 at 11:44 PM
Was checking fall foliage along Oak Creek (still a bit early) when this heron dropped in on the other side of the creek.

Sony RX10m4, 1/200 sec, f/4, ISO 800, 200 mm.

#sony #birds #landscape 📷
October 18, 2025 at 11:27 PM
The progression of peak leaf color continues to move from the higher to lower elevations. The oak trees around Flagstaff (7000' elevation) are starting to show some color.

#azwx #weather #autumncolor
October 15, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Animation of KFSX radar showing the long-lived left-moving supercell. Finally weakened when it arrived on the higher terrain of the Mogollon Rim.

#azwx #weather
October 13, 2025 at 11:47 PM
MRMS rotation track indicates this is a left mover (LM).

#azwx #weather
October 13, 2025 at 11:02 PM
Three body scatter signature (TBSS).

#azwx #weather
October 13, 2025 at 10:44 PM
This appears to be a left mover with anticyclonic storm rotation.

#azwx #weather
October 13, 2025 at 10:30 PM