Low water level in a icy landscape

The Baltic Sea is currently experiencing historically low water levels. During February 2026, persistent high pressure and strong northeasterly winds pushed enormous amounts of water – almost 300 cubic kilometers – through the Öresund and the Belts towards the North Sea.

Historical levels: Several measuring stations have approached or broken previous records for low water levels.

Cause: A strong and stationary high pressure combined with cold winds has acted as a "pump" that has drained the sea of ​​water.

Good news for the environment: The extremely low water level creates a "place" in the Baltic Sea. When the weather turns, this can pave the way for a strong influx of salt and oxygen-rich water from the Western Sea, which is crucial for saving oxygen-poor seabeds.

So why not head out to the east coast on a starry night! And indeed, the water level was very low. I could see barnacles on the rocks where the water's edge used to be. Amazing ice formations everywhere and when I shone UV light many interesting things under the ice fluoresced in different colors. I have no idea what it was, but probably algae, seaweed and minerals.

And on top of all this beauty the Northern Lights appeared with a nice spectacle!

The lonely pine cone

Finally some starry skies! Orion is beautifully high in the sky with the bright planet Jupiter to its left. Took a walk in the woods and saw this pine cone lying on the ground. Took a close-up of it and the starry sky. The pine cone is the spruce's equivalent of a flower. It acts as a protection for the tree's seeds and reacts to humidity by opening when dry and closing when wet.

Quick facts:

Seed bank: A single pine cone can contain up to 200 seeds.

Maturation: The cones mature during their first autumn and release the seeds during sunny spring and winter days.

Who eats them? Squirrels often gnaw them clean, while woodpeckers wedge them into the bark to get to the seeds.

Cone year: The spruce produces abundant cones about every five to seven years, which is called a cone year.

Lichens with Jupiter and lightpollution

Bright planet Jupiter in the night sky on this clear and cold evening. In the foreground is a birch with lava in different colors as I have used UV light to create fluorescence. Lichens on birch are usually harmless, superficial organisms that use the bark as a base without damaging the tree, often a sign of clean air. Common species include blue lichen and various crust lichens. Lichens do not penetrate the bark, do not cause rot and can benefit biodiversity by offering food to insects. The bright night sky is due to light pollution, caused by excessive or misdirected artificial night lighting, disrupting ecosystems, disrupting the circadian rhythm of humans and animals and obscuring the starry sky. It is a rapidly increasing environmental problem that negatively affects biodiversity, insect and bird migration patterns, and can be counteracted by targeted, warm white lighting, motion sensors and timers

Snow Moon and Planet Jupiter

A dramatic scene in the sky as clouds obscure the snow moon and the planet Jupiter. If you look closely at Jupiter in the right corner, you can also see three of its moons. The light is refracted in the clouds, creating beautiful colors.

When moonlight hits water droplets in clouds or rain, the light is refracted and reflected, splitting the white light into all the colors of the rainbow (red to violet). This optical phenomenon is called dispersion and occurs when light rays pass through the surface of the water droplets, bounce off the back, and are refracted again.

 

Lonely lingonberry leaves

Many nights with clouds and no photography. But tonight the sky was clear and I went out in the moonlit forest and found this lonely lingonberry leaves sticking up above the snow. They can withstand temperatures down to -45 degrees. This night in the moonlight the temperature is -11 degrees. Lingonberry leaves (Vaccinium vitis-idaea) are known to be rich in substances such as arbutin and proanthocyanidins, which makes them traditionally valuable for urinary tract problems. They can be used as a tea or tincture but should be used in moderation and not during pregnancy or breastfeeding.

Health effects: Lingonberry leaves are often used as a natural home remedy for urinary tract infections, like bearberry leaves. They are also considered to have antioxidant properties.

Uses: Dried leaves can be used to make tea, where 1-3 teaspoons of leaves are brewed in 200 ml of boiling water for 10-15 minutes.

Good seeing watching the moon

Very good view through the telescope when I looked at the moon the other week. At the top is Montes Jura, it surrounds the smooth lava bed Sinus Iridum (Bay of Rainbows) on the northwestern edge of Mare Imbrium (Sea of ​​Rain). A little to the south is the mountain range Montes Recti where the highest peaks reach a height of about 1.8 km (Latin for "Straight Mountains") is a distinctive, linear mountain range on the moon, located in the northern part of Mare Imbrium. Below are the mountains Montes Teneriffa (Tenerife Mountains) with individual peaks at heights of up to 2.4 kilometers. The crater Plato (in Swedish often called Platon) is one of the moon's most famous and easily recognizable impact craters. It is particularly famous for its dark, flat bottom and its location at the edge of one of the large lunar oceans. Plato has one of the darkest surfaces on the moon because it is filled with old, solidified basaltic lava. Astronomers like Johannes Hevelius once called it "The Great Black Lake"

 

Moonlit snow crystals

97% moon and the bright planet Jupiter next to it. In the cold snowy landscape, small crystals of different colors are seen in the snow taken with a macro lens. Even the two-bright stars Castor and Pollux are seen above the moon.

Snow crystals appear in different colors primarily due to light interference (thin films, prisms) or contamination, with thin-film interference causing iridescent blues, purples, and rainbow hues from light reflecting off layers, while contamination from algae (watermelon snow, green) or dirt/pollen creates vibrant reds, greens, and even blacks, altering the crystal's pure white appearance