Here in Way Downeast Maine, many dawns would blow you away, at least if you’re awake in time.
It’s not just when our closest star comes into view but also the vast unobstructed sky over the bay and the ways neighboring Campobello Island interact with the growing light.
As I’ve been finding – and you’re seeing in some of the photos here at the Red Barn – much of the glory occurs in what’s officially the twilight zones, defined by how low the sun is below the horizon.
These zones are otherwise known as dawn and dusk, apart from Rod Serling’s once upon a time spooky black-and-white TV episodes.
And these are longer and more pronounced the further away from the equator they are.
I’m on the 45th parallel, halfway to the North Pole and its days of endless summer light or winter darkness. Meaning our twilights are much longer than what happens in most of the rest of the continental U.S.
Checking our local weather forecasts, I’ve noticed a few unfamiliar terms but not looked into them until recently.
The first is astronomical twilight, which I’ll skip over this round. It seems to apply mostly to the Arctic and Antarctic.
The second is nautical twilight, which apparently has its origins in the era when mariners used the stars to navigate the seas. In clear weather, most stars are still visible to the naked eye but also, finally, the horizon. You need artificial light to do much of anything outdoors.
Around here these days, it begins before 3:10 am Daylight time – or what would be 2:10 Standard. The wee hours, no matter how you slice it.
The next stage is civil twilight. It’s brighter, enough to mean artificial light may not be required for outdoor activities. Only the brightest celestial objects can be observed by the naked eye. These days for us, it’s around 4 o’clock. Yeah, 3 Standard time. Still really early for most folks.
And finally sunrise, about a more than quarter to 5.
That’s an hour and a half of magical natural light.
I think it’s why most people around here are up and about early. Even in winter, the roads are busier at 5:30 in the morning than 5:30 in the afternoon.
Of course, the reverse happens every evening.
The shifts also produce what’s called the Golden Hour, when sunlight turns warmer and softer. Or, in my thinking, buttery and magical. I place it mostly as the hour before sunset, especially when the light shoots in horizontally.
As well as the Blue Hour, when only a few stars or planets are visible. Painter Maxfield Parrish exploited it to the hilt.
During the day, much of our sunlight is reflected from the waters back into the sky, something many classic Italian painters explored as well as more modern artists here today.
So how’s the natural light where you are?
Jnana's Red Barn 