Click here to see the sunrise movie…and see how the sunrise “position” has changed from December to June…

I took a photo of the sunrise on December 19…and another photo of the sunrise this morning (June 13) to see the difference in the Sun’s position along the horizon. I was quite impressed! I also used the video on my camera to give some perspective…showing where the sunrise was back in December versus where it is in June.

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Here is the three month outlook for June, July and August…

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Much of Iowa needs rain. There has been some improvement in the drought situation in Northwestern Iowa, but the Central and Eastern areas of the state remain unusually dry. Here are some numbers for the past couple months…

April rainfall
Cedar Rapids 3.48″ 0.43″ above normal
Dubuque 2.29″ 1.37″ below normal
Iowa City 4.43″ 0.93″ above normal
Waterloo 3.75″ 0.05″ above normal

May rainfall
Cedar Rapids 1.96″ 2.19″ below normal
Dubuque 3.28″ 0.91″ below normal
Iowa City 3.60″ 0.61″ below normal
Waterloo 3.20″ 1.33″ below normal

June rainfall through 6/4/12
Cedar Rapids Trace 0.45″ below normal
Dubuque 0.01″ 0.43″ below normal
Iowa City 0.0″ 0.47″ below normal
Waterloo 0.0″ 0.47″ below normal

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Tuesday June 5 is a special day for astronomers and sky-watchers all over the world. The planet Venus will pass in front of the Sun, and we’ll be able to see the first half of the transit here in our part of the world! The usual precautions must be taken, of course…and do NOT look directly at the Sun. You must use welder’s goggles or a filter in order to safely watch. The first contact between Venus and the Sun is at 5:09 PM…Venus appears to be totally “inside” the Sun’s disk at 5:27 PM…and will continue to “cross” the Sun until 11:49 PM. Sunset time Tuesday evening is around 8:40 PM. A few images of past Venus transits…

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