Windows Around the World

Moonrise
November 25, 2004 (U.S Thanksgiving): This was the first moonrise we captured. The cameras are not sensitive enough to pick up many details at night, but the full moon provides enough light to be seen. After this series we found that we could usually see the full moon every month in the winter and it demonstrated how the moon cycle is slightly offset from the calendar months.

Light
Winter and Spring Sunlight through the clouds at different times of the year can create interesting and beautiful effects on the land and MacKenzie River in Aklavik, Northwest Territories Canada.

Sun Dogs
March-May, 2006 Sun dogs were captured on the web camera in Aklavik. Sun dogs, also known as mock suns or Parahelia, are caused by the refraction of light by six-sided ice crystals in the atmosphere. These bright spots form in the solar halo at points, 22 degrees on either side of the sun and at the same elevation as the sun.

Aklavik Flood
May 25-28, 2006 The McKenzie River flows past Aklavik. During spring floods can occur due to ice jams downstream. Ice break-up on the river was followed by record flooding during this spring. The morning after the flooding the water level was still very high.

Precipitation
2006 These two images show different forms of precipitation. In February, snow storms occur in Franklin, Massachusetts. Hilo, Hawaii is located on the rainy side of the island. In the spring strong rain storms can occur.

Shadows
April-May, 2006 Different types of shadows can be seen by the web cameras. Every region has a different type of vegetation and different types of building or play structures that cast different shadows.

Sunrises
August-September, 2005 The camera in Aklavik looks east over the river and in late summer you can watch the sunrise. In Paulatuk the camera looks west but during sunrise you can see the sky and land glow.

Sunsets
February and August, 2005 The cameras in Franklin, Massachusetts and Paulatuk, Northwest Territories both look to the west and at certain times of the year sunsets can be seen.

Forest Fire Smoke
August 23, 2005 Forest fires frequently occur south and west of Aklavik and in the summer the smoke drifts and makes the sky around Aklavik hazy. Here you can see the sun through the hazy and smoke.

Bugs
July 9, 2005 In May there was a discussion on the message board about summer. In one of the comments someone in the north said that in the summer "The mosquitos are really bad and so are the black flies, you cannot even go outside." In these images from July you can see what they meant. Throughout the summer there were images of insects on the cameras in both Pualatuk and Aklavik.
Below, a black fly rests on the window for 8 hours through the night.

Lingering Clouds
May 26, 2005 The cameras have captured many beautiful cloud formations in both Aklavik and Paulatuk. This front seemed to be travelling directly away from the camera in Aklavik. It remained in veiw for over three hours.

Sun Rays
June-July, 2005 Between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. the sun shines directly into the camera in Aklavik. On clear days, this is too much light for the camera to handle and it turns the whole image pink. However, on a cloudy day you can see some really beautiful rays shining through.

Airplanes
June 23, 2005 The runway for the local airport in Aklavik is directly across the street from the school. In the winter time you can see that the runway is kept clear of snow. However, it is very rare to catch an airplane on the camera. Here are 2 differnt typse of airplanes that were captured on the same day. Since there are no roads to either Akalavik or Paulatuk in the summer time, these small planes are the primary way to get to either town.

Light Quality
April, 2005 These two images demonstrate how light quality can affect visibility in snowy conditions. The left image was taken on an overcast day in Paulatuk when the light was diffused by clouds. The right image was taken 24 hours later on a clear day.