Animation of the Night Sky at Your Location

CLICK HERE to go to Timeanddate.com, set the site to your location (or a nearby city), scroll down to the "Night Sky Map", select a planet to watch, and then click on the play arrow (or FFWD arrow, or scroll bar). You can pause and scroll over stars or other planets to see their names. Pretty dang cool if you ask me! The site provides plenty of other interactive astronomy animations to fiddle around with as well.

Below: This screen shot is an example of what you will see - except it will be in motion. NOTE: The site resets at noon every day, so the best time to check is afternoon.

#137 - Frozen in Time

Wild ice! . . .
I took this photo while skating with friends on Upper Holter Lake 20 miles north of Helena on January 27, 2026. Nordic skating (aka wild ice skating) has become very popular in the Helena area in recent years. Upper Holter Lake is part of the Missouri River, and on the day I took the photo the ice was 3-4 inches thick. The bubbles were most likely methane gas that formed as organic material decayed on the bottom of the lake.

Stacks of Bubbles . . .
Here is the scenario that probably caused the patch of bubbles to form: As night-time temperatures dropped below freezing, a layer of ice formed on the surface of the lake. Bubbles of methane rose but were trapped beneath the layer of ice. During the next cold night a second layer formed below the first, surrounding the first batch of bubbles. More bubbles rose and were trapped below the second layer of ice. This second batch of bubbles was embedded as the third layer of ice formed. This continued over several days, forming multiple layers of ice and bubbles, causing the stacking effect shown in the photo above.

For more about Nordic Skating in Montana . . .

1. CLICK HERE to see an album that includes all of the photos and reels from my skate on Upper Holter Lake.

2. If you're on Facebook, check out the MT Icebuds Facebook Page.

3. To access my blog post and photo tour from a day spent skating on Dead River near Harlem, Montana CLICK HERE.

4. Click on the image below to watch an animation of my time spent skating on Upper Holter Lake - includes a few short reels and several more photos:

Relive 'Skate on Upper Holter Lake 1/27/26'