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Daniel Leeb

@dan_leeb

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a fellow traveler exploring the cosmos w/ a bicycle & a lens or 2.
•Mission Director @icelandspaceagency & @the_aurora_whisperer
#aurorawhisperer

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This evening at 20:00 UTC, Daniel the #aurorawhisperer will be speaking about #SpaceScience, #Spaceexploration, #spaceweather, & the #auroraborealis. All are welcome at Valhúsaskóla in Seltjarness ! Hosted by Stjörnuskoỗunarfélag Seltjarnarness taken in Valhúsaskóli by @dan_leeb

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20 days ago

First light from the ISA Reykjavík Solar Observatory (RSO) in H-alpha at 18:43 UTC verse NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) at 19:32 with the AIA 1700 , RSO is here in Reykjavík , SDO is in a Geosynchronous orbit about 35,789 km above the equator … there is a substantial budget difference and although my set up time felt long, at least I didn’t have to do it in a clean room and then launch it into space :)

sunspot region 4524 looks quite active , and that could mean Aurora will be dancing in the days to come !

ISA is honored to be working with @snaefellsjokull_national_park to establish Iceland’s first Helio / Astro / Aurora Observatory & Space Science Learning Center which will be located at Snæfellsjökull National Park, more news to come later this week !

SDO image courtesy @nasascience_

RSO image courtesy @snaefellsjokull_national_park / @icelandspaceagency @luntsolarsystems @the_aurora_whisperer

#heliophysics #norðurljós #auroraborealis #spaceweather taken in Iceland Space Agency by @dan_leeb

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a month ago

Máni kl. 9:01 í morgun, 1.09 , séð frá Reykjavík

Moon at 9:01 this morning on 1.09 from Reykjavik Iceland

ISA 101 observatory w / @unistellarscope / @icelandspaceagency

Acquisition time 9:01 UTC
Focal length: 320mm
Mirror Diameter: 85mm
Exposure time 0.12 ms
Loc: 64.14, - 21.92 39m

#Artemis #moonmorning #máni #tunglið #moon taken in Iceland Space Agency by @dan_leeb

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a month ago

Já. taken in Reykjavík, Iceland by @dan_leeb

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a month ago

For all the light, for all that glitters , sparkles and reflects, a beam so bright there is never night. 50 orbits , we’ve shared eight, none of these have not been great, a harder path at times, but your totality has always shined. Planets , Stars and Moons mean naught , my Love will allways orbit you. til hamingju með afmælið Ásdís Sif , to the next 50 and beyond @asdissifstudio ✨ taken in Grótta Island Lighthouse by @dan_leeb

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2 months ago

Hekla in pink
w/ @asdissifstudio

#sumarhús taken in Laugarvatn, Arnessysla, Iceland by @dan_leeb

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2 months ago

Julie I found the photo! , a photo on a roll of 35mm kodak portra 400, you share the roll with 2 ravens atop Langjökull, bands playing at Iðnó and Laugardalshöll, and bts of a mutual friend’s music video… your in good company, you always were. I am sorry we did not become the better friends we should have been, may you fly at peace with your watchful eye on the sea, the mountaintops, and the merry makers you once captured for all to see. From my lens to yours with love and respect - Daniel W/ @juliette.rowland taken in Reykjavík, Iceland by @dan_leeb

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3 months ago

RainbowConnection
#regnbogi taken in Hvalfjörður by @dan_leeb

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3 months ago

From Reykjavík on July 4th 2026, the 250th anniversary of the independence of the United States, I find myself, an American born in Brookllyn living in Iceland with 2 daughters each with both American and Icelandic citizenship, looking up at a monument I pass almost every day, the statue of Leifur Eiríksson standing before Hallgrímskirkja.

It is a familiar site, but on this day it has a much deeper meaning . The statue was a gift from the United States to Iceland in connection with the 1000th anniversary of Alþingi, founded in 930 and often described as one of the world’s oldest parliamentary institutions. It is therefore a monument not only to a Norse explorer, but to a political idea: the Vikings when they settled Iceland were also escaping Tyranny and taxation from King Harald of Norway, and in 930 they first assembled together to chart a path with Alþingi to freely assemble, debate , legislate, and attempt—however imperfectly—to govern themselves , free of a king , and instead with one of the first forms of representative government.

Leifur Eiríksson reached North America centuries before Columbus. His story enters the shared timeline long before America existed as a nation, before its borders, before its republic, before its founding fathers. That is part of what makes this statue so meaningful. It points westward, but it also reflects on a shared history and the way nations build identity through memory, discovery, pride, as well as a curated oral tradition.

No nation’s history is a straight line. No national story is made entirely of clean facts or uncontested truths. We celebrate the narratives that give us courage and continuity, but we should also remember that narratives are never without a selective narrative construct. They are chosen. They are edited. They are monumentalized.

Continued with next photo ->

Iceland’s own story reminds us of this. Alþingi’s history is extraordinary, but it was never an uninterrupted democratic purity from 930 to the present. Power shifted. Sovereignty narrowed, then was absorbed into foreign rule: first through the Norwegian crown, later under Danish rule. Alþingi was eventually abolished by Danish royal decree i taken in Þingvellir - Thingvellir National Park by @dan_leeb

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3 months ago

Back on Mars with @discover_truenorth & @icelandspaceagency

#MarsorIceland #Mars #bakland taken in Iceland Space Agency by @dan_leeb

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3 months ago

Gleðilega sumarsólstöður / Happy Summer Solstice

Today in Iceland the sun rose at 2:53 GMT and will set at 00:05 GMT awarding us with 21h12min of daylight.
Solstice culminates now at 13:29 gmt.

This video was captured over the last 48hrs by the AIA instrument on the @nasascience_ Solar Dynamics Observatory which was launched back on Febuary 11 2010.

The SDO mission patch was gifted to us by the NASA Helio eclipse team last week as we planned for the coming solar eclipse on Aug 12th. Wherever you are today wishing you all #sunjoy from the north country.

#summersolstice #heliophysics #sunjoy taken in Iceland Space Agency by @dan_leeb

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4 months ago

@elinsifhall #fjallkonan incarnate
Powerful words by @bragivaldimar
#gleðileganþjóðhátíðardag

English translation of the original Icelandic text written by Bragi Valdimar Skúlason

Address of the Mountain Woman (Fjallkonan) — 17 June 2026

i

I come to you anxious, quarrelsome nation.
We need to discuss things.
My blood runs burning toward duty.
My heart beats within me — and my soul.

I bind this thought in a wreath of verse
— better to remember it this way —
and invite you to step into a little dance of bold and bright-hearted hopes.

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Look around you, far out to sea,
at calm valleys and fjords.
Look at all that the land has given you
— every sign of life is of great worth.

All that lies ahead — this is you.
This is your life and your joy.
Our task: to build a bridge here
and offer shelter from the wind.

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For history and culture are woven into words that we have been entrusted to preserve.
It is easy to lose it all overboard
— easy to misplace and forget.

If context disappears, thought becomes shallow
— a half-sung verse in the ear.
The past placed a treasure in your mouth that the future deserves to hear.

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I feel sadness, I feel that I am tired,
I feel a contagious anxiety.
For I am truly, terribly sorry
to see how you seem to be feeling.

Indifferent and hot-tempered at once, numb and divided in the trenches. It will be an uphill struggle to endure here still
if the social compact is broken.

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I know you need only a little encouragement
— there is considerable substance woven into you.
And if I set aside the grumbling and stubbornness, then much can be gained.

I am nothing if I do not have you
and all your flaws.
For when I see you, I see myself
— you carry that truth with you as provision.

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Remember then, when at last the sun has set
and heavy dreams overcome you:
a conversation about humanity and kindness is best
— but remember that time is short.

I take my leave of you now, curious nation
— perhaps you will startle yourself out of numbness.
Hopefully you will tread the path of prosperity and not now bring yourself to harm.

—
Delivered by Elín Sif Hall at Austurvöllur. taken in Austurvöllur by @dan_leeb

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4 months ago