On Thursday March 29, 2001 Venus passed almost directly between the Earth and the Sun. I made this snapshot at closest approach, when Venus was less than eight degrees from the sun in our sky.




Antelope Valley
This triangular valley is the upper part of the Mojave Desert. It is a striking sight on satellite pictures of southern California. The valley's shape is caused by earthquake fault lines. Winter rains this year were enough to stimulate a decent bloom of Goldfields on these hills.