Zach Schierl
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zschierl.bsky.social
Zach Schierl
@zschierl.bsky.social
1.6K followers 370 following 320 posts
Professional earth & space science educator. Semi-professional photographer. Amateur parent. He/him 🔭🌎🪨📷⚒️

📍 Yakima, Washington, USA

More: https://zschierlphotography.com/about/
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zschierl.bsky.social
Zach Schierl @zschierl.bsky.social · Nov 27
Thanks to all of the new followers! I teach community college earth, space, and climate science. I'm also a landscape and astrophotographer in my spare time. Never really used Twitter, but looking forward to learning from and being part of the teaching and photography communities here!
Photograph of the night sky and Milky Way above Mt. Adams, a snow and glacier clad volcano. The stars are reflected in a lake at the base of the mountain. A meteor is visible in the sky over the mountain.
zschierl.bsky.social
First wildflowers of the season here on the east slopes of the Cascades! A couple of weeks earlier than usual. Not surprising given how mild of a winter we've had.
A shiny yellow flower with five petals sits close to the ground. A cluster of small white, gray, and purple flowers with intricate silvery-green leaves is wedged between two rocks
February 15, 2026 at 5:29 AM
zschierl.bsky.social
The best thing about February (aside from the rapidly lengthening daylight hours) is that my drive to work coincides with sunrise on Mt. Adams:
A dome shaped mountain covered in snow is illuminated by an orange pink light at sunrise. Hills and buildings are visible in the foreground.
February 14, 2026 at 4:06 AM
zschierl.bsky.social
#ICEoutforgood protest in Yakima, WA today, hosted by #YakimaIndivisible
February 2, 2026 at 5:02 AM
zschierl.bsky.social
First attempt at teaching my 20-month-old to look through a telescope tonight. The instinctive
lunge for the eyepiece truly has no age minimum or maximum! 🔭
The full moon as seen through a 6" reflecting telescope. Several large dark gray smooth maria are visible, and a prominent crater with ejecta rays in the upper left.
February 2, 2026 at 4:31 AM
Reposted by Zach Schierl
jackiantonovich.bsky.social
This trend is giving me life. College is cool, knowledge is great. The liberal arts is rad. Being well rounded is the GOAT.

Fund all colleges and universities. We should be throwing money at them. Make it affordable for all. Let people take underwater basket weaving if they choose.
jackiantonovich.bsky.social Jacqueline Antonovich @jackiantonovich.bsky.social · 14d
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college:
1. Marine Biology (we got to go out on a boat!)
2. The History of the Holocaust
3. Logic and Critical Thinking
4. Eastern Religions
5. The French Revolution
bachynski.bsky.social Kathleen Bachynski @bachynski.bsky.social · 15d
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college:

1. Origins of Nazism
2. Dante’s Divine Comedy
3. Behavioral Ecology & Conservation Biology
4. Principles of Evolution
5. Thinking and Speaking About Thinking and Speaking
January 31, 2026 at 12:35 PM
zschierl.bsky.social
Going on a week straight of fog and stratus here in the Yakima Valley, but got to "escape" to the clear skies of Seattle briefly last weekend:
A view of a city skyline bathed in pink and orange sunset light, with a snow capped conical peak on the horizon.
January 22, 2026 at 4:18 AM
Reposted by Zach Schierl
john-abernathy.bsky.social
Photo by Pierre Lavie. Yes this is me. And I threw my Leica. It landed on the bass plate with hardly a scratch. Another Photographer grabbed it along with my phone and I was able to track him later. I was held face down tear gas deployed right in front of me and pepper sprayed directly into the eye.
January 17, 2026 at 2:57 PM
zschierl.bsky.social
Some nice lenticular clouds in the lee of Mt. Adams earlier this week...before the freezing fog set in. #wawx
Several slightly irregular lens-shapes clouds are back lit by the setting sun and ringed with a reddish-punk color. The silhouette of trees and power lines are visible at the bottom of the image.
January 17, 2026 at 4:23 AM
zschierl.bsky.social
Oh come on. My toddler can lie better than that.
Screenshot of text from a news article about ChatGPT adding...ads. Highlights: "OpenAI will never sell your data to advertisers." "Advertising will not influence the answers the chatbot provides"
January 17, 2026 at 4:19 AM
zschierl.bsky.social
Fun geology find in Spokane last weekend: a geology/Missoula Floods themed playground. Complete with interpretive signs and a J. Harlen Bretz quote! ⚒️
Quite from J Harlen Bretz inscribed on a faux-rock wall on a playground: "I could conceive of no geological process of erosion to make this topography except huge violent rivers of glacial meltwater." A piece of belt supergroup in front of a large playground structure Interpretive sign about rhythmites and varves Interpretive signs on the Cordilleran Ice Sheer and Missoula Floods in front of a faux-rock wall
January 7, 2026 at 4:49 AM
zschierl.bsky.social
Posting my 10 favorite images from 2025 in the last 10 days of the year:

#1: another wildflower photo...simpler than yesterday's image, just some spring balsamroot backlit by the setting sun. H

Happy New Year!

#wildflowers #washington
A cluster of bright yellow wildflowers are backlit by the setting sun.
January 1, 2026 at 5:34 AM
zschierl.bsky.social
Posting my 10 favorite images from 2025 in the last 10 days of the year:

#2: the densest patch of bitterroot I've ever found + surprise afternoon storms = a great day for photography

#landscapephotography #wildflowers #washington
A cluster of pale pink wildflowers growing close to the rocky ground. Green grasses grow in the background while rain falls from dark clouds in the background.
December 31, 2025 at 5:42 AM
zschierl.bsky.social
Posting my 10 favorite images from 2025 in the last 10 days of the year:

#3: City photography isn't usually my thing, but I had a blast strolling and trolley-ing around Lisbon on this evening back in August.

#photography #portugal
A trolley rolls down a narrow street at night. People walk along the sidewalks and the entire scene is lit by a warm yellow light.
December 30, 2025 at 4:24 AM
zschierl.bsky.social
The fear and uncertainty extends beyond the orchards. It is palpable on campus and in the classroom as well.
December 30, 2025 at 4:20 AM
zschierl.bsky.social
Posting my 10 favorite images from 2025 in the last 10 days of the year:

#4: A stark scene along the southwest coast of Portugal this past summer. This one reminds me of all the "artist's impressions" of exoplanet surfaces that I've seen over the years.

#landscapephotography #portugal
A rocky platform along the coast with numerous small tide pools reflecting a pale orange and pink sky at sunset.
December 29, 2025 at 3:36 AM
zschierl.bsky.social
Posting my 10 favorite images from 2025 in the last 10 days of the year:

#5: One of my favorite mountains (Mt. Adams) with one of my favorite wildflowers (beargrass).

#landscapephotography #washington
A snow capped peak is reflected in a calm lake surrounded by forest. Several talk stalks of white flowers are silhouetted against the foreground of the lake.
December 28, 2025 at 4:01 AM
zschierl.bsky.social
Posting my 10 favorite images from 2025 in the last 10 days of the year:

#6: A repost from last month, but my mid-November rattlesnake encounter definitely makes the list.

#photography #wildlife
A photo of a rattlesnake with dark patterning on a rock. The head is slightly raised and the rattle is visible.
December 27, 2025 at 4:42 AM
zschierl.bsky.social
Posting my 10 favorite images from 2025 in the last 10 days of the year:

#7: 2025 was no match for 2024 in terms of celestial events, but we did get a couple of nice aurora displays, including this one just last month.

#photography #aurora
A photograph of the night sky with trees and city lights in the foreground. The sky is lit up with pink and green shimmering clouds.
December 26, 2025 at 5:46 AM
zschierl.bsky.social
Posting my 10 favorite images from 2025 in the last 10 days of the year:

#8: A smoky sunset flying over the Canadian Rockies back in August.

#photography
A view of a mountain range from a plane. The landscape is filled with smoke and the low angle of the sun is casting dramatic shadows.
December 24, 2025 at 5:13 PM
zschierl.bsky.social
Posting my 10 favorite images from 2025 in the last 10 days of the year:

#9: Takeoff

#photography #birds
A large hawk-like bird with a red tail spreads its wings as it takes flight from the top of a tree
December 24, 2025 at 3:36 AM
zschierl.bsky.social
Posting my 10 favorite images from 2025 in the last 10 days of the year:

#10: A lone western larch on a talus slope, Wenatchee National Forest, WA.

#photography #washington
A tall narrow tree with yellow needles stands on a talus slope covered in dark grey boulders.
December 23, 2025 at 4:09 AM
zschierl.bsky.social
Snow levels are dropping rapidly here in central Washington. First snow of the year in Yakima! 🌨️

#wawx
A centimeter or so or snow covers some drying and mostly brown pitcher plants. Snowy trees and a weather station are visible in the background.
December 18, 2025 at 8:22 PM
zschierl.bsky.social
Had a clean window and clear skies flying from PHX to PSC yesterday. Amazing views from Sedona all the way up to Great Basin NP. Come along with me on an aerial geology tour across the Colorado Plateau and Great Basin! ⚒️

#1: Beautifully eroded Paleozoic sedimentary rocks near Sedona, AZ
A maze of canyons carved into tan and orange rocks.
December 17, 2025 at 7:23 PM
zschierl.bsky.social
Lots of murky water hugging the west bank of the Columbia River, presumably from the flooding on the Yakima River. This is above Wallula Gap, 20-ish miles downstream of the Yakima/Columbia confluence. #wawx
A broad river flows through a gap in cliffs toward the viewer. Water along the left (west) bank is brown and turbid, while water along the right (east) bank is much clearer.
December 17, 2025 at 5:52 AM
Reposted by Zach Schierl
planetdr.bsky.social
It’s really demoralizing how many colleagues are using AI.

Your job is literally to use your brain- your extremely unique, highly trained brain 😭
December 11, 2025 at 6:15 PM