It's Been a Slow Start

Weather has been fickle.  Here we are on April 14, and really only one marginal severe thunderstorm warning that crashed and burned slowly after being issued.  Last week came a group of storms that woke everyone up, then turned to sleet and ice.

We are still in the clutches of a winter that won't go away, but everything is starting to turn green.  Storms are expected today in front of a cold front, we will see what happens.

Ice and Lightning

The first big stormy week of chase season was a bust. Storms either didn't show up or turned into ice spewing monsters. The following photos were taken today in the Wichita area after a half inch glaze.

From the Other Side of the Planet

Severe Thunderstorm Warning in Lashkar Gah, Afghanistan.  Tomorrow?  Maybe some local pictures.

Not sure what this is.  But if it was a funnel, I doubt the group of four would be gazing at it like it was in Kansas.

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Dark Matter?

Some days, I thought about changing the blog's name to Head in the Clouds, Mind's out in Space.  Storms will be here soon, my friends.



Source SPACE.com: All about our solar system, outer space and exploration

Pan-Starrs

I think my love of starry nights came from the same place my love of storms came from.  Summer Vacations.  On one summer vacation around midsummer many years ago, the park attendant mentioning a meteor shower that night.

It was probably one of the annual shows but I remember seeing the Milky Way (something that I now have to travel almost an hour away from Wichita to see), and a few shooting stars.  My father went back into the 5th wheel camper to get coffee and I looked up and saw an explosion of shooting stars emanating from a central point in the sky.  Since then, I've been drawn to go out and look up.

I started astrophotography last year with a new lens and a lack of storms in the area. I'm still amazed at what I can pick up with the camera and how bad light pollution is in the area.

Pan Starrs is a recently discovered comet that appeared in the month of March.  Most accounts is that it's barely visible in the nights sky with binoculars.  This March has been overcast and when it's been clear, there were clouds on the horizon preventing us from seeing it.  There were two nights I went out, and luckily, I found it with the camera on March 18th. Per Earthsky.org the comet is getting closer and may be slightly brighter at month's end.  Keep looking west at sundown for about an hour after and you may need binoculars to see it.

 

NASA likes me, they really like me!

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/GPM/news/gpm-let-it-snow-photo-contest-winners.html

Looks like I made it in NASA's GPM "Let it Snow" photo contest.  Out of 1000 entries my "Snowflakes" picture placed in the top 10.

The End of the World as We Know It.

It's been a slow weather season around Oz but rain and a little thunder is expected this weekend.  Until then, something in the night sky that used to bring the downfall of kings and nations . . .



Source SPACE.com: All about our solar system, outer space and exploration