Starship Asterisk*

First morning above -0f for 3 days! It is actually going to get to 33F today! No snow though! Haven't had snow for a while now! Some milder weather is supposed to be on the way!

Wow! Now the weatherman is saying 52F for a high today!

orin stepanek wrote:Wow! Now the weatherman is saying 52F for a high today!

I envy you, Orin. Here it is just getting colder and colder.

Ann

Ann wrote:
I envy you, Orin. Here it is just getting colder and colder.

Ann

Maybe; but the rollercoaster ride isn't over! today the low is 39F; the next two days the lows are supposed to be -1F and -3F! Oh well only 2 more months 'til spring!

http://www.startribune.com/weather/blog ... ather.html


NAM guidance: NOAA and Ham Weather.

Ski Savannah? The leading edge of one of the two coldest air masses of winter may spin up a storm capable of rain changing to snow from near Pensacola to Augusta, Savannah, Charleston and Wilmington, even a few inches of slush - enough to snow and shovel. Do people living there even own shovels.

This polar vortex thing that's happening is very rare. Even though Minnesota has had colder January's on average, this January has more below 0f temps than in 80 years. This is true because there are more wild swings in temperature this year causing a higher average.

The bubble core of cold air on top of the world usually sits up there and spins relatively tightly. With warmer air than usual over the Arctic ocean, because of the lack of the ice's albedo affect and the relatively warmer water being exposed to the air, the polar vortex is being "pushed aside" more than it is being moderated (temperature). It slips off, splits, and "falls" (it is heavier than the warmer surroundings) towards more southern latitudes. I hope this isn't a permanent trend because as we know, it probably looks like a lack of ice on top will be a common occurrence in the future imho.

This second cold intrusion is just as strong as the first one on Jan 6th n 7th. I love them because they cause us to cuddle up together, it kills off invasive species like the beetles eating the great north woods, and if your car survives this, it will survive anything

Mark
ps I can't work today or tomorrow because most of the schools are closed due to -20f in the city, with a nasty -40f windchill. Tomorrow will be the 5th school day closed due to the cold. Nearly a record amount.

We had a dusting of snow last night, but mainly the sudden temperature drop produced rime and tiny ice crystals forming in the air. The temperature this morning was 4°F/-16°C. Very pretty view across the valley, and the ice in the air is evident in the pillar of light around the Sun. I was standing barefoot on the deck when I shot these images, so I didn't admire the view for too long!

Beautiful pictures Chris. For a place with no ocean nearby, it's pretty nice looking up there in the atmosphere.

Rob

Chris, in the pillar of light image, I'm assuming the white dots are ice crystals? Initially, I thought they were stars.

Did you think the statue on the left was a real dog, too? (Just kidding, I thought the same.)

After the last two posts, i clicked on the image to make it bigger and i see... stars. But it could be I'm just being contrary and don't realize it.

Nitpicker wrote:Chris, in the pillar of light image, I'm assuming the white dots are ice crystals? Initially, I thought they were stars.

Yeah, the air was full of ice. The shot was 1/4000 sec, so it froze some reflections. It's hard to look at without seeing stars, but no chance of them with the fast exposure.

geckzilla wrote:Did you think the statue on the left was a real dog, too? (Just kidding, I thought the same.)

If you had pointed your fancy sky-phone-app-thingy at the dog, you would have had confirmation of Canes Minor.

I seem to remember at some point seeing a photo of a whole bunch of those dog statues. It's slightly creepy if you don't know his wife is a sculptor.

geckzilla wrote:I seem to remember at some point seeing a photo of a whole bunch of those dog statues. It's slightly creepy if you don't know his wife is a sculptor.

Not as creepy as the "Nuts about spiders?" topic, where I also learnt about the dog statues:
http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php? ... 8&start=71

Chris Peterson wrote:

swainy wrote:Who cares about the robot, what is the thing its standing on?

One of my wife's sculptures, Dog Days.

It's strange because I don't know how that post ended up in that thread. It's supposed to be in this thread.

Nevermind, confused myself, there. That topic wasn't creepy, it was just plain hilarious. I remember being annoyed at swainy back when it was going on but when I read it now I can't help but laugh.

You mean all those little white spots of varying sizes are ice crystals

Nitpicker wrote:

geckzilla wrote:Did you think the statue on the left was a real dog, too? (Just kidding, I thought the same.)

If you had pointed your fancy sky-phone-app-thingy at the dog, you would have had confirmation of Canes Minor.

canes_pixelatus.JPG

Looks like Canis Major to me. Shouldn't his name be Sirius?

Ann

Ann wrote:

Nitpicker wrote:

geckzilla wrote:Did you think the statue on the left was a real dog, too? (Just kidding, I thought the same.)

If you had pointed your fancy sky-phone-app-thingy at the dog, you would have had confirmation of Canes Minor.

canes_pixelatus.JPG

Looks like Canis Major to me. Shouldn't his name be Sirius?

Ann

It may be a statue of a Great Dane, but it is a long way away. Anyway, I really did check, and it looked to me like Canes Minor and Procyon were in better alignment at that time, with the camera and the statue. But we're starting to sound like astrologers.

Nitpicker wrote:But we're starting to sound like astrologers.

[The emotion a vampire expresses when confronted with garlic, a crucifix, or holy water.]

geckzilla wrote:

Nitpicker wrote:But we're starting to sound like astrologers.

[The emotion a vampire expresses when confronted with garlic, a crucifix, or holy water.]

So, you believe in vampires. Uh huh.

geckzilla wrote:

Nitpicker wrote:But we're starting to sound like astrologers.

[The emotion a vampire expresses when confronted with garlic, a crucifix, or holy water.]

That's because garlic makes his meal taste bad, a crucifix is too big to use as a toothpick and the holy water burns his throat on the way down.

Ann wrote:

Nitpicker wrote:

geckzilla wrote:Did you think the statue on the left was a real dog, too? (Just kidding, I thought the same.)

If you had pointed your fancy sky-phone-app-thingy at the dog, you would have had confirmation of Canes Minor.

The attachment canes_pixelatus.JPG is no longer available

Looks like Canis Major to me. Shouldn't his name be Sirius?

Canis Major, indeed. In this case, a life-sized High Five.

Actually, there's already a piece called Canis Major. Point your fancy sky-phone-app-thingy at that!

Alright, I pointed my fancy firefox at that belt buckle and soon found myself looking at a nutty pen holder. Aw, geez.

Balls!

geckzilla wrote:Alright, I pointed my fancy firefox at that belt buckle and soon found myself looking at a nutty pen holder. Aw, geez. :lol2:

There's a story there. That's what's leftover when somebody orders a female version of High Four. Nothing goes to waste.