Półwysep Iberyjski z Majorki [260 km]
Autor: Marcos Molina
The highest peaks of Alicante province in the Spanish mainland can be visible from one of the highest peaks in Mallorca (Balearic islands, Spain) at this time of the year. The sun sets in the point of the horizon where Alicante peaks appear, but only on occasion of extremely good visibility, as was the case on the 21st of January, 2012. After calculating the sun conjunction with the Alicante peaks, I wished myself good luck and did the 1 hour climb to the top of Galatzó mountain (1026 m.). I managed to take with me my “telescopic” gear: the f5.6 600mm manual Nikon lens (great quality optics lens), connected with the Canon eos 7D camera, which gave me a total focal distance of 960mm. Only at sunset the miracle happened: I could watch during some minutes Aitana mountain at a distance of 264 km. and the Campana mountain at 259 km. across the Mediterranean sea. “Campana” in English means “bell” as per the shape of a big church bell. “Aitana” is a female proper name.
I am still waiting for the right opportunity to take new pictures of the Pyrenees also from Mallorca island, hoping the visibility will be good enough to catch the “Pic de Saloria”, 319 kms. away in the mountains of Andorra, between Spain and France, as per my older post: https://dalekieobserwacje.eu/?p=7234 I need extremely special good weather conditions to take these pictures, but the time of the year is now!
Best regards to everyone at D.O. from Spain,
Marcos Molina
Mam nadzieję, że brak komentarzy dla obserwacji >250 km wynika z wypraw długo weekendowych a nie braku zainteresowania tak małą odległością 😉
Dla tych, którzy chcieliby potwierdzić prawidłowośc identyfikacji Voytkowej dodam tylko, że miraż zrobił swoje i, w szczególności na dwóch pierwszych zdjęciach, kształty szczytów dalece odbiegają od ich faktycznego wyglądu na GE.
Thanks Marcos 4 another spectacular glance at Spain from Majorca. I imagine they were all taken at dusk…? Could you also tell me what are the best ‘visibility’ months (besides december) in your homeland?
Długi weekend to jedno.. ale 250 km też odbiera mowę…
Thank you again for sharing these new photos I took sometime ago.
About the best time of the year to watch long distance objects:
The Mediterranean area has its own climatological characteristics: very warm Summer months (July-August-September) contrast with mild Winter months (December-January-February-March). Important degree of Humidity is always present, which makes you feel hot weather *very hot* and cold weather *very cold*. Also, humidity is noted as a constant “haze” in the sky, which usually reduces visibility considerably, particularly in warm weather. Good visibilty in the Mediterranean is not a frequent situation. Worst visibility happens during Summertime and best visibilty appears in Wintertime. Best visibility comes with cold and dry weather, which usually can happen between November and April (highest chances for very clear skies are December through March). Wind direction is crucial. Cold dry N/NW/W winds can bring clear skies. On the contrary, S/SW/SE winds will usually bring humidity, which turns the air hazy.
Another essential circumstance to achieve long-distance observations is to be in the right place, at the right day and the right hour. Only from the top of the highest mountains of the island you will be able to take a glimpse of the Iberian peninsula. Also you have to be a good observer. The distant silhouette of Spain can be over the horizon but if you are not used to look at distant objects you may not notice it. Also, mountains in Majorca island are not easy accessed. There are no roads, no cableways. Only by strenuous walking for a few hours you can reach the tops. Sometimes fairly easy climbing is necessary to reach certain summits, like Puig Major, highest peak in the island (1436 m.). Because of the geographical orientation, Iberian peninsula can only be seen from Majorca at sunset. That is when sun sets behind Spain, creating optimal optical conditions. This means that, after observation, you will easily find yourself at night at the top of the mountains. In most of the cases this involves spending overnight there: extra food and drink, sleeping bag, sleeping mattress, extra clothes. Bare in ming this will always be in Winter. Best visibility conditions here happen during polar invasion, when we get snow on the mountains and temperatures sometimes can be as low as -8º C at 1000 m. Lastly, to take decent pictures of long distance landscapes you must carry a good telephoto lens, like a 70-200 or better if it’s up to 400 mm.
Now, add all I have explained above and you will quickly conclude that long distance photos of the Iberian peninsula from Majorca are almost inexistent. Not only people don’t believe Iberian peninsula can be seen, but people do not care about checking it, climbing or taking pictures. In a word: Iberian peninsula observations from Majorca are a very rare phenomenon. If you have the chance of seeing it once or twice during a whole year (given you visit regularly the mountain tops) you can consider yourself lucky.
Mateo, I confirm that all these pictures were taken at Winter sunset. The long-distance mountain tops you can see were so small in the photograph, that, to appreciate them good enough I had to crop them. They were all taken with a Canon 100-400mm lens at maximum focal distance (400 mm.).
All my best to you.
Regards,
Marcos/Spain.
Świetne zdjęcia!
Marcos, what about the mountains in northern Africa 😉 ? I’m sorry, but could not resist… I’m impressed, never expected that the Mediterranean Sea islands could be a long distance observer’s paradise…
Krzysiek, I would not consider Balearic islands as a long distance observer’s paradise.
Definitely, Africa cannot be seen from Balearic islands. It is much too far away.
Marcos, you have to be patient also in the paradise… And you had a nice, winter mountain trip (yes, I know – not everybody would consider it nice) and made the longest distance, registered observation we are aware of, at least in the Europe (there is a 350 km observation of Denali, http://www.gi.alaska.edu/AtmosSci/Links.mainpage/optical_effects/opt09.visibility.html).
Africa was of course a joke – my wife says sometimes (when I talk too much about long distance observations), that I will see the Atlas mountains from Poland ;).
Oh my God, those new artificial landscapes of Aitana and Penyagolosa are wonderful. A big thank you to the author (Fryta?).
Krzysiek, as per the better observation conditions, I am pretty sure that the best possibilities for long distance observation is the Alps. The high altitude of peaks combined with frequent good visibility makes this place a very interesting ‘paradise’. Don’t you think so?
About Africa…. you can see almost every day the African coast and the Anti-Atlas mountains (2800m.) from Sierra Nevada peaks (3400 m.) in the south of Spain (Granada). I have seen it when I was there as lots of other people who climb and ski up there.
Thank you once more. Regards,
Marcos.
Rozumiem, że nowość to dwa pierwsze zdjęcia, świetny zachód, ta odległość jest fantastyczna, wspaniały widok.
Amazing that these mountains are so far away, but they are also so close to be able to photograph them.
Greetings from Poland
Marcos, nice to see new photos, made by you! It is quite strange to answer after one and a half of a year, but I don’t think the Alps are such a paradise. Yes, the peaks are high and excellent visibility is a norm at high altitudes (if the weather is good, of course), but for a very long distance observation one needs a lowland between the distant mountains. Many years ago, I have observed Monte Viso from Balmenhorn (Monte Rosa) – c.a. 150 km and that’s all. There are web pages with views > 200 km, but I’m unaware of anything exceeding 300 km within the Alps.
Wow, I can say… I’m happy to see from time to time Tatras from Krakow…. but those photos are fantastic.
What I can suggest is http://www.krakow4u.pl especially http://krakow4u.pl/Tatry-z-Krakowa.html
All the best….
I would imagine that one of the best places for long distance observations is the northern Turkish coast looking across the Black sea towards the Caucasus, where it is possible to see even Elbrus, a distance of over 300 km.
Co to za dziwaczne wpisy do Majorki się pojawiły. Czyżby to jakieś linki do wirusów???