Zach Schierl
@zschierl.bsky.social
Professional earth & space science educator. Semi-professional photographer. Amateur parent. He/him 🔭🌎🪨📷⚒️
📍 Yakima, Washington, USA
More: https://zschierlphotography.com/about/
📍 Yakima, Washington, USA
More: https://zschierlphotography.com/about/
Almost stepping on a rattlesnake was not on my radar for a hike in mid-November.
Tieton Nature Trail outside of Naches, WA. #photography #wildlife #washington
Tieton Nature Trail outside of Naches, WA. #photography #wildlife #washington
November 16, 2025 at 1:42 AM
Almost stepping on a rattlesnake was not on my radar for a hike in mid-November.
Tieton Nature Trail outside of Naches, WA. #photography #wildlife #washington
Tieton Nature Trail outside of Naches, WA. #photography #wildlife #washington
Update: it is indeed a good night!
November 12, 2025 at 1:46 AM
Update: it is indeed a good night!
Aurora alert! I can see a bright red glow with the naked eye from my backyard and it's not even dark out yet. Could be a good night! #aurora 🔭
November 12, 2025 at 1:26 AM
Aurora alert! I can see a bright red glow with the naked eye from my backyard and it's not even dark out yet. Could be a good night! #aurora 🔭
Beautiful fall day mushroom hunting around Mt. Rainier! #StratovolcanoSunday
November 3, 2025 at 4:01 AM
Beautiful fall day mushroom hunting around Mt. Rainier! #StratovolcanoSunday
Finally got a cloud-free evening to get a good look at Comet Lemmon. This is a stack of 30 1-sec exposures from my front yard. Comet and tail easily visible in binoculars. Probably a naked eye object if not for the house across the street trying to mimic a Vegas casino...🔭
October 22, 2025 at 5:00 AM
Finally got a cloud-free evening to get a good look at Comet Lemmon. This is a stack of 30 1-sec exposures from my front yard. Comet and tail easily visible in binoculars. Probably a naked eye object if not for the house across the street trying to mimic a Vegas casino...🔭
Kicking off year 7 as a full-time faculty member this week!
If any planetary science folks would be interested in speaking to my Solar System astronomy course about their research later this quarter, please get in touch! 🔭
If any planetary science folks would be interested in speaking to my Solar System astronomy course about their research later this quarter, please get in touch! 🔭
September 25, 2025 at 12:12 AM
Kicking off year 7 as a full-time faculty member this week!
If any planetary science folks would be interested in speaking to my Solar System astronomy course about their research later this quarter, please get in touch! 🔭
If any planetary science folks would be interested in speaking to my Solar System astronomy course about their research later this quarter, please get in touch! 🔭
Quite a bit of activity on the Wildcat Fire today. This is a ~30 minute time lapse taken from the Ironstone Mountain Trail late this afternoon. Triangular peak in foreground is Mt. Aix.
#WildcatFire #wawx
#WildcatFire #wawx
September 14, 2025 at 3:31 AM
Quite a bit of activity on the Wildcat Fire today. This is a ~30 minute time lapse taken from the Ironstone Mountain Trail late this afternoon. Triangular peak in foreground is Mt. Aix.
#WildcatFire #wawx
#WildcatFire #wawx
Differential weathering in thin beds of marine sediment exposed near Praia de Odeceixe, Portugal. It was stunning to see this silhouetted against the darkening sky just after sunset! ⚒️
September 10, 2025 at 3:05 AM
Differential weathering in thin beds of marine sediment exposed near Praia de Odeceixe, Portugal. It was stunning to see this silhouetted against the darkening sky just after sunset! ⚒️
September 9, 2025 at 4:10 AM
Figures I'm camping nearly in the path of it. Might be taking refuge in the car here shortly...
September 7, 2025 at 4:45 AM
Figures I'm camping nearly in the path of it. Might be taking refuge in the car here shortly...
September 2, 2025 at 2:50 AM
About 2:30 pm we crested a ridge on the Jug Lake Trail and saw the pyrocumulus through the trees. A little surprising given that winds by us (only ~8 miles S of the fire) were non-existent to light.
Hoping for favorable conditions as crews try to get this one under control! #wawx
Hoping for favorable conditions as crews try to get this one under control! #wawx
September 1, 2025 at 3:43 AM
About 2:30 pm we crested a ridge on the Jug Lake Trail and saw the pyrocumulus through the trees. A little surprising given that winds by us (only ~8 miles S of the fire) were non-existent to light.
Hoping for favorable conditions as crews try to get this one under control! #wawx
Hoping for favorable conditions as crews try to get this one under control! #wawx
Sunset at Praia de Odeceixe, Portugal. The beach is basically a huge sandbar at the mouth of the Rio de Seixe, with the river on one side and the Atlantic on the other. One of the most spectacular beaches I've seen. ⚒️📷
#portugal #landscapephotography
#portugal #landscapephotography
August 30, 2025 at 2:44 AM
Sunset at Praia de Odeceixe, Portugal. The beach is basically a huge sandbar at the mouth of the Rio de Seixe, with the river on one side and the Atlantic on the other. One of the most spectacular beaches I've seen. ⚒️📷
#portugal #landscapephotography
#portugal #landscapephotography
Unexpected geology find last week: absolutely spectacular folds in Carboniferous marine sediments along the western coast of Portugal near Cabo Sardão. ⚒️
August 29, 2025 at 2:40 AM
Unexpected geology find last week: absolutely spectacular folds in Carboniferous marine sediments along the western coast of Portugal near Cabo Sardão. ⚒️
Not sure what's more unsettling: "Cool American" being a flavor descriptor, or Doritos earning a "B" on the EU's A-F nutrition ranking system.
August 28, 2025 at 9:23 PM
Not sure what's more unsettling: "Cool American" being a flavor descriptor, or Doritos earning a "B" on the EU's A-F nutrition ranking system.
Found in a summit register on Shellrock Peak this morning, deep in the William O. Douglas Wilderness of central Washington:
August 9, 2025 at 12:09 AM
Found in a summit register on Shellrock Peak this morning, deep in the William O. Douglas Wilderness of central Washington:
Picked up this gem at a used bookstore in Homer, AK last month. It is 10x more gruesome than you're imagining. A little dated but lots of interesting stats and practical advice.
August 6, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Picked up this gem at a used bookstore in Homer, AK last month. It is 10x more gruesome than you're imagining. A little dated but lots of interesting stats and practical advice.
August 5, 2025 at 6:04 PM
Some neat differential weathering in porphyritic andesite from yesterday's hike in the Goat Rocks. Most of the groundmass has oxidized to an orange-pink color but the true dark gray color can be seen on broken surfaces. The large plagioclase phenocrysts are relatively unweathered. ⚒️
July 31, 2025 at 4:15 AM
Some neat differential weathering in porphyritic andesite from yesterday's hike in the Goat Rocks. Most of the groundmass has oxidized to an orange-pink color but the true dark gray color can be seen on broken surfaces. The large plagioclase phenocrysts are relatively unweathered. ⚒️
Two peaks on the Kenai Peninsula peak out of the clouds as seen from Homer, Alaska.
#landscapephotography #alaska
#landscapephotography #alaska
July 28, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Two peaks on the Kenai Peninsula peak out of the clouds as seen from Homer, Alaska.
#landscapephotography #alaska
#landscapephotography #alaska
Just finished this book about a corner of North America I knew almost nothing about. Engaging narrative, but the omission of any sort of map feels criminal for a book so rooted in geography. I'm guessing not many readers have a mental map of the Mackenzie River Basin...
#booksky #reading
#booksky #reading
July 26, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Finally getting around to a closer look at photos from our trip to Alaska earlier this month.
One unexpected surprise was this view of Denali from Anchorage. It's not a great photo, but it's better than anything I got through the clouds and smoke on our visit to Denali National Park in 2019.
One unexpected surprise was this view of Denali from Anchorage. It's not a great photo, but it's better than anything I got through the clouds and smoke on our visit to Denali National Park in 2019.
July 25, 2025 at 4:25 AM
Finally getting around to a closer look at photos from our trip to Alaska earlier this month.
One unexpected surprise was this view of Denali from Anchorage. It's not a great photo, but it's better than anything I got through the clouds and smoke on our visit to Denali National Park in 2019.
One unexpected surprise was this view of Denali from Anchorage. It's not a great photo, but it's better than anything I got through the clouds and smoke on our visit to Denali National Park in 2019.
Pure anarchy on the beaches of Puget Sound today:
July 20, 2025 at 4:08 AM
Pure anarchy on the beaches of Puget Sound today:
I legitimately don't understand how folks on the east coast survive the summer. I just went for a run at 82°F with a dew point of 52°F (which is high for Yakima!) and feel like I just crawled out of a swimming pool.
July 17, 2025 at 5:21 PM
I legitimately don't understand how folks on the east coast survive the summer. I just went for a run at 82°F with a dew point of 52°F (which is high for Yakima!) and feel like I just crawled out of a swimming pool.