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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