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orange, hazy moon setting over the red-lighted antennas on Lookout Mountain
Monday morning's moonset over Lookout Mountain - Photo by Barb Warden - Click to enlarge


I happened to notice the moon Monday morning, as it was headed down for the day. The air was thick, and the moon had an orange tint.

hang gliders over Mt. Zion on a murky day
Gliding through the Smoke - Joyce Davell - enlarge

Later that day, Joyce Davell sent this photo of hang gliders soaring around Mt. Zion. The air was still murky, tinted pink at that time of the day.


view of North & South Table Mountain with the sun rising between in an orange sky
Wildfire Sunrise by Jen Rutter - enlarge

4 Years Ago
The summer of 2020 was surreal for many reasons. People were just starting to come out of seclusion as public health experts urged us to get outdoors, but stay away from each other. Masks and hand sanitizer were in high demand and hard to find. Grocery store shelves were half-empty. Everyone was learning how to use Zoom.

Castle Rock silhouetted against a dark red sky with a red-yellow sun clearing the mountain
Atomic Sunrise by Chris Davell - enlarge

Just to make life a little more surreal and post-apocalyptic, there were wild fires all over the west, and we lived through day after day of smoke-filled air. The one bright spot with that poor air quality was the spectacular sunrises and sunsets.

orange sun peeking over the pine-covered shoulder of Lookout Mountain
Wildfire Haze from Lookout Mountain - Buglet Solar - enlarge

That was the year I introduced the daily Golden Eye Candy feature, and many of that summer's photos featured orange suns. I hope you enjoy reviewing one of my happier memories of 2020. Thanks to all the photographers!

view from the west side of the retention pond silhouette of Castle Rock in the distance and red-orange staining both sky and water
Fiery Sunrise - Jen Rutter - enlarge
murky, orange-tinted midday sky - South Table Mountain seen from Lookout Mountain
Smoky View from Lookout Mountain - Patrick Klein - enlarge
four panels showing the red sun just clearing the mountains
Red Sunsets - Bud Rockhill - enlarge
airplane silhouetted against a dark yellow sun in a red-black sky
Fire-fighting plane leaving the Jefferson County Airport - Chris Davell - enlarge
Orange and black locomotive under a bright orange and yellow sunset surrounded by red clouds
Burlington Northern Santa Fe - Crystal Culbert - enlarge
paining showing a red sun in a red sky over the silhouette of South Table Mountain
Wildfire Sunrise - Jesse Crock - enlarge
Pine trees framing a view of an orange sun in a darker orange sky, setting behind the foothills
Orange Sunset - Nancy Torpey - enlarge
fiery sun setting behind the mountains with smoky air tinting the world orange
Walking in Ulysses Park - Susan Riebe - enlarge
spectacular view of the sunrise from the west side of the city pond - fire-tinted clouds turning sky and water orange
Sunrise Erupting - Frank Hanou - enlarge

Highlights