Thursday, July 25, 2013

Cool Summer Relief

Canadian air has made a visit to central Virginia, an amazing relief to the sweltering humidity of July. It was shockingly cool when I stepped outside this morning, and the north wind from the strong high pressure dome over the northeast made it even cooler: wonderful!
Tomorrow morning is going to be even cooler when morning lows will dip into the low 60's and even 50's in western Va. The late weekend will bring a return to more humid air with the chance of showers back in the forecast but until then cool, dry, breezy conditions will prevail, get out and enjoy the planet.
Tropical Storm Dorian has formed in the eastern Atlantic off Africa and is cruising across the waters at fairly high speed but it's still a long ways from any land and predictions are really guesses at this point in time. Already 50 mph winds so Dorian bears watching - for next week.
Equake list is pretty low key so far for this day 5 months from Xmas and the world's volcanoes are taking a break, too. The new weekly update has only the most usual of big smoking mountains and none of them are doing much more than belching and spitting a little ash and gas.
Venus still dominates the evening sky and with the moon waning get out after dark and see of you can see the summer Milky Way. It's that "milky" swath running from the southwest (the center in Sagittarius) to the North (through the Summer Triangle of Vega, Altair and Cygnus). It might look like a cloud in your dark sky but that's our galaxy home.
Today on Earth is gorgeous here in the central Atlantic coast, get out and enjoy the cool.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Heat + Moisture = Summer

Earth continues to do what it does when, even though a little farther from the sun, it's tilted toward the big fusion driven star: stay hot and crank up the water cycle. The temps are down a little into this third week in July from last week and the storms continue to roll through the mid-Atlantic (somehow mostly missing here - hundredths of an inch here, inches close by - but our time will come). The July full moon lit up the nighttime planet last night and will, clouds allowing, be bright again tonight. Venus still shines brightly low in the west (if you have a cloud break) and Saturn continues it's dance with Spica but is sinking quickly in the west as Earth pulls away from the ringed wonder. The other planets are, if visible at all on the morning side of Earth and you need to be up early to check those out.
Volcanoes and Quakes: I'm sure they are still spitting and shaking all over the planet but this sporadic blogster hasn't been checking them our much during the long days of summer.
It's hot and muggy and you have to watch for ticks, mosquitoes and flies among other vermin but it's still a pretty nice planet; get out and check it out, today on Earth.