Orion's 'Physiology'

Despite competition from a nearly full moon, the constellation Orion shines magnificently above the trees in the southeastern sky from Cedar Rapids, Iowa around 8:15 PM, February 18, 2011. The image of the great mythological hunter is composed of many bright stars and some dim nebulae. The bright star at upper left is Betelgeuse, a red giant with an apparent magnitude of 0.43, located some 640 light years away. Shining at 1.62 magnitude at upper right center is Bellatrix. The three diagonal stars making up Orion's belt are from left: Alnitak (1.71 mag.), Alnilam (1.68 mag.) and Mintaka (2.25 mag.). A diffuse nebula (NGC 2024) resides just below Alnitak, but at an apparent magnitude of 10.00 is invisible even to the camera at this exposure of ten seconds at f/5. Within the vertical "sword" (or scabbard) area below the belt are the nebulae NGC 1977 and M42--the Orion Nebula. Left and below the sword is the star Saiph, at magnitude 2.06, and brightest of all at lower right is the blue-white giant Rigel, shining at magnitude 0.15. Rigel resides some 773 light years from Earth.

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Andromeda By Moonlight

A nearly full moon bathes the terrestrial landscape in light and washes out all but the brightest stars in the sky around 8:15 PM, Friday, February 18, 2011. This 20-second exposure at f/5 with an ISO rating of 800 looks southwest at Bowman Woods Park in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Extended warm weather had reduced a 12-inch snowpack the week before into a nearly snow free ground on this day. The two bright stars situated close together at left center are part of the constellation Aries. The two bright stars above the pointed tree top at right center are Almach (upper) and Mirach (lower) in the constellation Andromeda. M31, the Andromeda galaxy (pictured as a small fuzzy vertical blob), is faintly seen just right and below the two dimmer stars right of Mirach. The moon at this time was rising in the eastern sky and was about 16 degrees above the horizon.

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Warmer Winter Sky

A bank of altocumulus clouds is illuminated by the setting sun around 5:05 PM, Saturday, February 12, 2011 in this view looking west over Bowman Woods Park in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Winds were out of the south at this hour and temperatures registered just above 40 degrees F. Just two days earlier at this location, the mercury had dipped to a near-record low of -12 degrees F. Continued significant snow cover prevented temperatures of at least 10 degrees warmer than was attained on this day.

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Not A Fit Night Out For Man Nor Beast

Sustained north winds of 30-40 mph blast Noelridge Christian Church, 7111 C Avenue NE in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with snow around 9:45 PM, Tuesday, February 1, 2011. A blizzard was in progress here as it was throughout much of the Midwest, wreaking havoc and costing millions of dollars in damages. Despite the conditions that prevailed--temperatures in the teens and subzero wind chills--I was amazed at how quickly my exposed fingers became painfully numb on my camera's shutter button in the time duration of less than 30 seconds it took to shoot my pictures. The culprit of all this mess was an intense, heavily moisture-laden low pressure system moving on a NE track from east Texas to Ohio. In Cedar Rapids, snow fell from early Tuesday afternoon to Wednesday morning (Feb. 2), dropping about 13 inches of the white stuff on the city. Trailing the winter storm was high pressure, bringing clear skies, lofty barometer readings (30.50-plus inHg in C.R.) and cold temperatures. By 7:00 AM, Thursday, February 3, temperatures had bottomed out at a frigid -9 degrees F. This image of the church building looks northeast, almost directly into the "teeth" of the wind.

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Blizzard Warning!

Though travel was definitely not recommended Tuesday evening, February 1, 2011, I was out with my camera. This was the scene amid blizzard conditions on a deserted C Avenue NE at its intersection with Boyson Road in Cedar Rapids, Iowa around 9:45 PM. Wind gusts of from 30-40 mph produced nearly horizontal snow and significant drifting. In this image looking south, wind-driven snow blows directly overhead. Snow began to fall in Cedar Rapids early Tuesday afternoon and continued until Wednesday morning. High winds made accumulation measurements difficult, but Cedar Rapids received about 13 inches of snow. Further east, Chicago was hit with just over 20 inches, making it the third-worst storm in the city's modern history. The massive winter storm system of which this local event was part of, stretched from the states of Oklahoma and Texas in the west to the New England coast in the east.

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