Good morning,
We will begin with some Astronomy today. It is called the Venus Transit and it is happening today. Venus will be moving directly in front of the sun between 5 PM and sunset tonight. PLEASE DO NOT LOOK DIRECTLY INTO THE SUN as it can severely damage your eyes. Venus is the second closest planet to the sun and is very close to the size of Earth. Here is our Solar System:
Late this afternoon Venus will be tracking directly in front of the sun and this won’t happen again until 2117. I doubt any of us alive today will be here when this happens again. A transit happens when a planet moves between the Earth and the Sun. This can only happen with Mercury and Venus. It will look like a black dot in front of the sun. Where can you see this?
- The Powell Observatory in Louisburg, KS. For directions go to askc.org/powell.htm
- UMKC Warkoczewski Public Observatory, roof of Royal Hall at 5200 Rockhill Road
A back door front moved through early Monday evening and now we have an easterly breeze with slightly cooler air for the rest of this week. The dry weather continues today, but there are increasing indications that some good chances for rain and thunderstorms will arrive next week. But, that is six days away or so. Between now and then we get to enjoy some great June weather.
Have a fantastic Tuesday.
Gary
Definitely looking forward to the transit, a lot more information (and a live stream during the transit) can be found at NASA’s transit page: http://venustransit.nasa.gov/transitofvenus/
The above mentioned locations open at 4:00PM
There are two more events (that I know of) in our area,
Johnson County Community College’s (JCCC) Paul Tebbe Observatory on the roof of the Classroom Laboratory Building (CLB) will open at 4:30PM
JCCC event info
H.M.S. Beagle Science Store’s event starts at 5:00PM they will have a telescope set up and solar glasses for sale
H.M.S. Beagle event info
Good morning Gary—The Venus transit will be interesting for sure. I am looking forward to the chances of rain–many of the weather sources here in Topeka now are mentioning it. I was disappointed that the rain melted away Sunday. We had a 50% in Berryton/Topeka but it never materialized. It rained along the turnpike some as my wife and I traveled to Wichita Sunday. Let’s hope for more rain! Michael/Berryton/Topeka
“The dry weather continues today, but there are increasing indications that some good chances for rain and thunderstorms will arrive next week.”
How many weeks in a row have I heard that line?
Agree, its 6 days out and your saying a good chance of rain with this dry pattern and previous “good chances” that did nothing. That just adds to the frustration of no rain. It is what it is….. drought!
Well, it rains every time, but sometimes it is just a few drops. So, there is a good chance of rain, the question is how much. I am hoping for 2 inches or more. That would be nice.
Sorry – just kind of getting tired of this drought. Seems there is no end in sight – as we get further into summer, the jet stream goes even further north, rain gets harder and harder to come by.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=V_Ftvm31yiAin This is for ALL you lonely storm chasers
My Cardinal is COOL! It,s been a regular in my back yard for,at least,3yrs. Notice it,s crooked lower jaw,and growth. The growth “could” be a fungus. I would appreciate feed-back….All feed-back is welcome…kevinhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=dLCf7uSt5MU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=dLCf7uSt5MU#t=1s I believe this is it?
Kind of weird to have a bird pushing shake-weight workouts if you ask me.
I think it looks more like a stogie ,or a blunt.
awaiting moderation on correct video
That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen. Go home. Your speaking privileges are revoked.
thank you,and also thanks for stopping by KSHBs weather blog. Hope to here back from you at a later time….
You’re welcome, Mary.
Great video Tushchaser! All you need are eggs to see if the offspring have the same growth!
All YOU need is a girlfriend…
I tossed a few out there just now.Will video there pipping…Thanks for the idea..You are a GREAT asset to this blog..Keep looking up(but directly at the sun)
that should say “not directly”..unless you want.It is still a free country…U.S.A…U.S.A!!!!
Don’t worry, nobody cares what you think anyway. Seriously. Nobody.
Austin 83 you ok today? Are you out of your medication? Should we call someone for you?
Does anyone know of a Kansas City area supplier for welding glass? I’m hoping to track down some #12 or #14 glass today to be able to check out this transit, but a quick search on google didn’t reveal any good results for me.
I found plenty of online retailers, but that obviously won’t be quick enough for tonight’s viewing.
Here is my disclaimer: Don’t do the following. Here is the following, I just picked up at ACE hardware a #5 and a #10 welding shade 2″x4″ rectangular lenses for $1.99 each. #10 used alone and the sun is too bright. #5 used alone and you will go blind. By stacking the #10 & #5 I got an equivalent of a #15. I read on the internet (so it means it is true, lol) a #14 is what you want. Anyway, I have tested this #15 setup with a detached riflescope at full power and my view tonight will be awesome if no thunderstorms get in the way. Of course there is the risk I am unaware of types of radiation these lenses won’t block so I am only going to peek a few times. If my fingers slip I will be working the pirate patch look forever. I might get some duct tape to secure the lenses. Please don’t use this setup for any kids as it is just too risky. Let them watch the feeds on the web if they are even interested at all. This ought to be quite boring anyway.
Again, DON’T DO THE ABOVE. Feel free to remove this post if inappropriate.
what did you search for? a search for welding supplies yielded “http://www.hohenschild.com/” in KC MO. (816) 471-1982
Thanks for the link. They confirmed by phone, like so many other suppliers I’ve been able to identify, that they don’t have any in stock.
Serves me right for waiting until the last minute I suppose.
I think I’ll snag some on my next amazon order so I have it on hand for the next solar event (though obviously not the next transit of venus).
You need to call a welder and tell them you have some rush welding job at your house. Then when they show up to do it, tell them what you really want is to borrow their goggles.
HAHA! This made my day.
Admittedly I live four hours away near Rolla, Missouri, but I found a roughly 5×5 inch piece of #12 welder’s glass at the local MFA, which is a farmer’s coop. I also checked Lowe’s, a local hardware store, and another local farmer type joint, which all had up to #10. I was unable to find #14 anywhere, but I just looked through the #12, directly at the midday sun and I can attest to still being able to see.
“Gary, I have been reading this blog daily for several years. I read last weeks blog. I havent read anything about the flow blocking up, did I miss it? The jet stream always moves North in the summer, this is not an LRC specific event. My question is if we were to look at maps from the previous cycles, do they have this blocking pattern? Also could you please define blocking up for us? Perhaps you have in the past but a refresher would be great. I have lots of confidence that the pattern we are in is very dry, how could one argue that? Farmers are begging for it to rain.” Gary I posted this yesterday towards your response to me, could you please define “blocking”
I saw the killdeer graphic tonight! I should have known you already knew about them Gary!
My welding shades on the unmounted big riflescope worked so well I even saw 4 sunspots on full zoom. I first spotted the transit at 5:07 when only the tiniest sliver was showing. I was expecting bottom left but I guess that was from seeing the pictures of the earlier of transit 8 yrs ago. Boring and exciting at the same time.
If anyone missed this celestial event, don’t worry too much. On August 21st, 2017 the biggie, A TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE, will have totality just a few dozen miles East of Kansas City. Of course, since people fly thousands of miles to see them (on avg one occurs somewhere on earth every 18 months), I plan to chase clear skies that day all over the country if I have to.