The day's waning glow is shown in this view looking west from the grounds just west of Christ Community United Methodist Church in Marion, Iowa around 5:25 PM, Tuesday, December 27, 2011. Sunset had occurred about 45 minutes earlier. The city lights in the direction of Cedar Rapids at right are located along the East Robins Road area. This image was a 1/3-second exposure at f/8, 800 ISO and 22mm focal length.
The planet Venus shines above a street adorned with Christmas lights in clear conditions around 5:15 PM, Saturday December 24, 2011. Venus, glowing at magnitude -3.97, effectively competes here with the artificial light below. This view of the southwest sky is seen from Brentwood Drive NE in Cedar Rapids, just south of Boyson Road.
A setting sun illuminates a sky laden with altocumulus clouds in this view of the southwest as seen from a future housing development area located just south of Boyson Road at Timber Oak Court in Marion, Iowa around 4:25 PM, Thursday, December 22, 2011. This was the shortest day of the year and heralded the arrival of winter.
A crescent moon and the planet Venus line up vertically as seen in the western sky from just west of the grounds at Christ Community United Methodist Church in Marion, Iowa around 5:25 PM, Tuesday, December 27, 2011. This view looks toward the neighboring city of Cedar Rapids. A smattering of Christmas lights are still evident just below the horizon. Venus gleams at a bright -3.98 magnitude. Also faintly seen in the sky are two ghostly contrail streaks. This image was shot at 1/3 second, f/8, 800 ISO, 22mm focal length. Air temperature was a relatively mild 35 degrees F.
Merry Christmas! Stars wheel around Polaris (the North Star, seen just right of the branches at left center) in this two-minute exposure at f/3.4, 500 ISO and 18mm focal length taken around 2:25 AM, Friday, December 23, 2011 from Brentwood Drive NE in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The two bright stars at upper right are Aloith and Mizar, located in the handle of the Big Dipper. Now, normally I would not get up at this hour and go out into 20-degree F temperatures with a freshly sprained left ankle, but this was supposed to be peak time for the Ursid meteor shower. As it turned out, in about 45 minutes of observing, I saw nary a one in a clear sky--not even a faint streak--so this image became one of my "consolations."
The southwest sky is painted with altocumulus undulatus clouds as the sun begins to disappear behind a hill and trees at Bowman Woods Park in Cedar Rapids, Iowa around 4:15 PM, Thursday, December 22, 2011. Sunset was at 4:38 PM. Winter solstice had arrived less than 24 hours earlier, at 11:30 PM CST on December 21. The lack of snow cover kept temperatures around freezing at this hour. (Compare this photo with "Winter Solstice Sky" from last December).
The constellation Orion (top) rises over Brentwood Drive NE in Cedar Rapids, Iowa as seen from Bowman Woods Park around 9:10 PM, Saturday, December 17, 2011. Just above the houses at center, some decked out with Christmas lights, is the -1.47 magnitude Sirius, the brightest star in the sky. This image looks southeast. It was captured shooting a 10-second exposure at f/5, 1000 ISO and an 18mm focal length. As can clearly be seen, snow cover continues to elude the countryside.
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