Popcorn Skies

Thick and pronounced altocumulus clouds blanketed the evening skies in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Thursday, July 30, 2020. The altocumulus formations, resembling popcorn in this case, are often harbingers of precipitation or thunderstorms. None occurred here, however, as very dry summer conditions continued to persist. The image above, captured at 6:07 pm CDT, and below at 6:13 pm, look northwest from Bowman Woods Park in Cedar Rapids. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

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July 29 Linn County Storms

Weather conditions during the early evening hours of Wednesday, July 29, 2020 called for possible short-lived funnel clouds which would probably not reach the ground in southern Benton and southwestern Linn counties in Iowa. Around 5:50 pm a small tornado warning polygon was issued in the Blairstown area of Benton County. The warning lasted only about ten minutes but the storm system pushed east and produced some impressive looking views in Linn County. Above, the image looks southwest at 7:00 pm CDT from the Wendy's restaurant on Blairs Ferry Road near Edgewood Road in Cedar Rapids at a storm cell located about 9 miles distant, near the town of Fairfax in Linn County. 

7:21 pm. Looking south at a wall cloud-like feature while preparing to enter the Highway 100 on-ramp from Edgewood Road. The feature was about 6.5 miles distant.

7:24 pm. Looking south at the storm while westbound (SW) on Highway 100 near Covington, Iowa. Storm was about 7 miles away.

7:25 pm. Westbound (SW) on Highway 100, about .75-mile southwest of Covington. Heavy rain shaft in distance.

7:26 pm. Similar view near the E Avenue NW exit on Highway 100.

7:27 pm. On E Avenue NW Highway 100 overpass, and heading back for home. Prominent rain shaft to the south. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

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Pillar of Flame

A family bonfire gathering in rural Shueyville, Iowa, held about twice a year, always makes for good nighttime photography. The event held on the evening of Saturday, August 1, 2020 was a good example of that. Weather conditions at this time of the year were ideal: 72 degrees with 70% humidity and light winds. This image looks south (center) at 9:19 pm CDT. A nearly full moon is hidden behind clouds at left. 6 second exposure at f/8, ISO 320, 18mm focal length.

Hot smoke rises skyward from the large bonfire at 9:27 pm. This image looks west and is a one second exposure at f/8, ISO 800, 18mm focal length capture. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

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Storms Fast Opening Act, Beautiful Finale

A line of storms began forming quickly just east of Cedar Rapids, Iowa around 4:00 pm CDT on Sunday, July 26, 2020, began intensifying, then moved east. The image above, looking southeast at 5:03 pm from Bowman Woods Park in Cedar Rapids, shows a very strong area of that line about five minutes before it went severe warned. The area was located about 20 miles to the ESE, near the town of Mechanicsville in Cedar County.

5:04 pm. This was a multi-cellular storm, but these two cells merged (above) as it progressed.

Radarscope capture from 5:05 pm, showing the line of storms and the severe-warned polygon.

5:17 pm. Panorama of the storm after it had gone severe warned. The most intense area of the line was located about 22 miles distant, just west of the town of Stanwood in Cedar County.

5:22 pm. Interesting cloud feature resembling a horizontal funnel, looking east from my backyard. This particular storm system would move on and into far Eastern Iowa after 7:00 pm.

A new area of storms had gotten going to the south and east of Cedar Rapids around 6:00 pm, and these too intensified. With daylight fading, the sky to the east turned brilliant with reflective pinks, yellows and oranges. This image looks east from my backyard at 8:33 pm. The illuminated clouds in the background were located in Jones County, about 30 miles distant.

8:33 pm. Vertical capture.

8:34 pm. Panoramic view from backyard.

Radar capture corresponding to 8:35 pm. My location is illustrated by the target icon at left, the area of clouds exhibiting the brilliant luminosity are shown at right.

8:38 pm. Another panoramic capture. Within about ten minutes this scene faded into darkness. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

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NEOWISE Composite Pic

This is a composite image of the Comet NEOWISE and the water tower at the Linn County Engineer facility at Highway 13 and County Home Road, about 2.5 miles north of Marion, Iowa. Both the comet and water tower were photographed from this same location, but at slightly different times and positions in the sky on Wednesday, July 22, 2020. The water tower was captured at 9:41 pm CDT, and is a 13 second exposure at f/4.5, ISO 160 and 34mm focal length. The comet was captured at 10:22 pm and is a 15 second exposure at f/4.5, ISO 2000 and 26mm focal length. The background is a stack of four images to reduce noise. The water tower was once part of the Linn County Home, which was operated from 1892-1977. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

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NEOWISE, Jupiter, Saturn, Moon & Milky Way

The Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) made its closest approach to Earth on July 22-23, 2020, and unfortunately from here on it's all "down hill"--the comet is heading back out to space, is beginning to dim, and will fade out completely sometime next month. Because of this, I consider the recent days of clear skies precious. I did not plan it, but in the image above the International Space Station (ISS) glided by just above NEOWISE at 9:53 pm CDT on Sunday, July 19, and I was able to capture it. Location was Lowe Park in Marion, Iowa. The faint star just above the comet's coma is the 7.56 magnitude HIP46351 in the constellation Ursa Major. Three combined images, each a 15 second exposure at f/4, ISO 500 and 70mm focal length.

10:05 pm. This was a test shot from Lowe Park, with a very vibrant band of clouds stretching over the lights of the area. 10 second exposure at f/5.6, ISO 320, 80mm focal length.

10:12 pm. Closeup of the comet. 15 second exposure at f/4, ISO 1000, 70mm focal length.

Next evening, July 20. Skies were beautifully clear upon my arrival at my desired photography location--in rural Shueyville, Iowa, but within a half-hour of the capture of this image at 9:55 pm, the sky had become completely clouded over, and the show was over for the night! Image looks northwest. 10 second exposure at f/2.8, ISO 400, 16mm focal length.

The planets Saturn and Jupiter were in conjunction and at their brightest on the evening of Tuesday, July 21, and their capture was my prime objective for the night. This picture looks southeast from Bowman Woods Park in Cedar Rapids, Iowa at 10:13 pm. Saturn (left) reflected at magnitude 0.10, while Jupiter was much brighter at magnitude -2.74. Two of Jupiter's moons (Callisto and Ganymede) can be seen close and left of the planet. 2 second exposure at f/4, ISO 1250, 70mm focal length.

300mm focal length closeup images of the two planets, with their largest moons included. Lens not powerful enough the resolve the rings of Saturn.

Meanwhile, a bank of clouds to the west had finally lifted, giving me an opportunity to capture NEOWISE. Unfortunately, high humidity was causing heavy condensation on my camera's lens, and this smudgy image taken at 10:50 pm was one of the best. 15 second exposure at f/5, ISO 1250, 70mm focal length.

Wednesday, July 22, 2020. The evening sky started clear and stayed that way! NEOWISE made its closest approach to Earth during this night, with the added bonus of a thin crescent moon included, if one was fast enough to capture them both before the moon set. This is another test shot, more about the moon. The image looks west at 9:37 pm from County Home Road (E34), about .1-mile east of Highway 13, and about 2.5 miles north of Marion, Iowa. The intersection of both roads is illuminated in the background. 2 second exposure at f/5.6, ISO 200, 52mm focal length.

9:56 pm. Same location with Comet NEOWISE included. Moon is setting and low on the horizon at left. 10 second exposure at f/3.5, ISO 500, 18mm focal length.

9:58 pm. 10 second exposure at f/3.5, ISO 500, 18mm focal length.

10:19 pm. Closeup of the comet among some thin passing clouds. 15 second exposure at f/4.8, ISO 2000, 38mm focal length. A shout-out to the couple who unexpectedly joined me at this location last night to view NEOWISE. Good company and conversation!

10:26 pm. 13 second exposure at f/4, ISO 2500, 26mm focal length.

10:31 pm. Getting close to my time to head back home. The sky, though, had another cool feature in store--the Milky Way. Though I was somewhat surprised by its clarity, the location is far enough north and away from the light polluted skies of the Cedar Rapids/Marion area. This panorama image is a merge of four separate photographs, all 15 second exposures at f/3.5, ISO 2500, 18mm focal length. The left part of the image is the northeast sky, and stretches to the southeast at right.

10:33 pm. Bright planets Saturn and Jupiter (center) were still there too, in this image looking SSE. Part of the Milky Way stretches skyward at right. 10 second exposure at f/3.5, ISO 2500, 18mm focal length. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

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Patriotic Balloons

Three hot air balloons drifted over the cities of Marion and Cedar Rapids, Iowa on the evening of July 4, 2020--Independence Day, each with an American flag draped from their gondolas. This image looks northwest from Bowman Woods Park in Cedar Rapids, Iowa at 8:21 pm CDT. The balloons were moving away from the camera.

A single balloon is silhouetted by the setting sun in this image captured at 8:23 pm, looking west. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

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