Lunar Eclipse at the Castillo Fort In St. Augustine

 

A vacation for a family member's wedding near St. Augustine, Florida provided a more exotic foreground element setting than my Iowa location for the total lunar eclipse event early in the morning of Friday, March 14, 2025--the Castillo de San Marcos fort along the shores of St. Augustine, Florida, the oldest city in America. With warm overnight temperatures (60 degrees F at the time of capture), clear skies and minimal insect interference, the setting was ideal. The image above, which looks south, is a composite of the foreground element and separate shot of the moon. The foreground is a 10 second exposure at f/7.1, ISO 640, 24mm focal length. The moon, captured near totality at 2:54 am EDT, is a 1/10 second exposure at f/4.5, ISO 2500, 70mm focal length. The Castillo fort is a national monument and is illuminated at night. 

Individual shot of the moon with nearby star at 2:35 am EDT--23 minutes before totality. Image is a 1/3 second exposure at f/4.5, ISO 800, 70mm focal length. Nikon Z6ii camera.

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Ash Wednesday Snowstorm

 

Right behind a system of heavy rain (and severe weather in states to the south) on Tuesday, March 4, 2025 came heavy and blowing snow on March 5--Ash Wednesday. The wintry system in eastern Iowa produced white-out and near blizzard conditions. All Nikon Z6ii camera images posted here were 1/320 exposures at f/7.1, ISO 100 and 24mm focal length. Air temperature was 31 degrees F. The image above looks southeast at 8:40 am CST, March 5 from a parking lot in Lowe Park near Marion, Iowa.

8:46 am. Looking south from the roundabout at Tower Terrace and Alburnett roads in Marion.

8:47 am. Southbound on Alburnett Road near 29th Avenue in Marion. Despite the dangerous energy of the storm, only a few inches fell here, and the snow base began melting in 40 degree F temperatures the following day (March 6).

Radarscope image for 8:37 am, Wednesday, March 5, 2025. Snow system in progress. The white target icon is my position.

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Crescent Moon, Venus Conjunction---A Beautiful Thing

 

7:07 pm CST, Saturday, March 1, 2025. Looking west at the beautiful crescent moon and -4.72 magnitude planet Venus over the illuminated Chatham Road NE neighborhood as seen from Bowman Woods Park in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Earthshine on the moon is very apparent. Air temperature was 21 degrees F. 1/3 second exposure at f/4.5, ISO 1000, 49mm focal length. Nikon Z6ii camera.

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Oh, Venus---Hey Venus...

My intention during the evening of Friday, February 21, 2025 was to see Saturn and newcomer Mercury in the month's-long planetary "parade." While waiting for the duo to materialize out of the glare of the fading sunset, I trained my camera in nearly the opposite direction in a farm field bordering Lowe Park in Marion, Iowa. This was the scene across the desolate snowy field looking northeast at 6:13 pm CST. Image is a 1/8 second exposure at f/7.1, ISO 400, 24mm focal length.

As it turned out, I would not see either planet, either with the naked eye or by over-brighting captured images in post processing. What WAS visually undeniable was the presence of the striking -4.32 magnitude planet Venus in the west. This image was captured at 6:23 pm and is a 1/10 second exposure at f/5, ISO 800, 24mm focal length.

6:41 pm. Realizing opportunity was lost for a Saturn and Mercury sighting, fingers frozen, it was time to head for home. But one last vision presented itself for camera capture: this view of the internally illuminated Lowe Park greenhouse with city lights and the mighty Venus shining over it. 1.6 second exposure at f/7.1, ISO 125, 24mm focal length. Air temperature was 17 degrees F. Nikon Z6ii camera.

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February Snow Scenes

 

I hiked to an area of Boyson Park with a natural spring bubbling up from the ground during the afternoon of Wednesday, February 12, 2025. The area is located in Marion, Iowa--a place where in days gone by the town's water works was located. The spring water isn't particularly warm when emerges from the ground here, but is apparently warm enough to keep nearby submerged vegetation green all year long. The image above, which shows the bubbly spring at center, was captured at 1:28 pm CST.

Similar image captured at 1:29 pm. A winter snowfall was in progress during this time, and would eventually dump about 7.5 inches of the white stuff.

1:30 pm. Similar image. Nikon Z6ii camera.

1:53 pm CST, Friday, February 14, 2025. On a walk along Boyson Road in Marion, Iowa. This image looks west from near the intersection of Geode Street and shows advancing snow bands before another snowfall (but less potent) event. iPhone 11 camera.

Corresponding Radarscope image of the approaching snow system. The target icon is my location.

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More January Winter Sky Splendors

The planets Venus and Saturn were doing a close dance around each other in the late January skies. In this view looking southwest from Bowman Woods Park in Cedar Rapids, Iowa at 7:17 pm CST on the evening of Sunday, January 26, 2025, the -4.54 magnitude planet Venus is above the 1.14 magnitude planet Saturn. Image is a 1.6 second exposure at f/4, ISO 400, 34mm focal length.

7:20 pm. Looking toward the southeast sky. The bright object at left is the -1.18 magnitude planet Mars. With Mars are the bright stars in the constellation Gemini--Castor (upper, magnitude 1.56) and Pollux (magnitude 1.15). The bright planet Jupiter is at upper right (magnitude -2.56). With Jupiter in the constellation Taurus is the 0.84 magnitude star Aldebaran. The lone bright star at lower center is Procyon (magnitude 0.37) in the constellation Canis Minor. 4 second exposure at f/4, ISO 400, 24mm focal length.

7:28 pm. A front and center look at the constellation Orion, looking southeast. The bright star at upper left is the 0.43 magnitude Betelgeuse, at center top is 1.62 magnitude Bellatrix, and at right center is 0.15 Rigel. The very bright star at lower left is -1.47 magnitude Sirius, the brightest star in our skies and situated in the constellation Canis Major. Air temperature was 18 degrees F. Nikon Z6ii camera.

Fast forward one day and a blazing sunset nearly eluded me because of its fast change in lighting. The spectacle was nearly gone when I captured this iPhone 11 camera image of it at 5:20 pm CST, Monday, January 27, 2025 from the parking lot at Noelridge Christian Church. Air temperature was 44 degrees F.

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Sunsets and Conjunctions

5:08 pm CST, Wednesday, January 15, 2025. Air was cold, sky was hot. Brilliant sunset looking southwest as seen from the parking lot at Noelridge Christian Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. iPhone 11 camera.

5:46 pm CST, Saturday, January 18, 2025. The planets Saturn and Venus were in conjunction (top in image). This image looks southwest from the Klopfenstein Amphitheater in Lowe Park, north of Marion, Iowa and is a 0.6 second exposure at f/4, ISO 250 and 24mm focal length. Prolonged exposure in the 16 degree F temperature with sub-zero wind chills may have given my numb fingers a mild frostbite--at one point I could no longer press my Nikon Z6ii camera's buttons!

Close up of the 1.13 magnitude planet Saturn (left) and the -4.64 magnitude planet Venus.

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