Moon & Venus Wednesday Evening

Few naked eye celestial spectacles can compare with the beauty of a crescent moon near Venus in the morning or evening sky.

This evening the thin, illuminated arc of moon extended noticeably less than half the circumference of the lunar "disk". Brilliant Venus was nearby, to the left of the moon. Both simultaneously fit within the 8 degree field of my 8x42 binoculars. As twilight deepened, earthshine became more easily visible, allowing easy recognition of the darker maria contrasting with the brighter highland regions. The gray-blue earthshine features were particularly nice when viewed with 20x80 binoculars.

Sketcher,
In the right place at the right time.

On Wednesday, January 21, 2015 at 8:32:52 PM UTC-8, Sketcher wrote:
Few naked eye celestial spectacles can compare with the beauty of a crescent moon near Venus in the morning or evening sky.

This evening the thin, illuminated arc of moon extended noticeably less than half the circumference of the lunar "disk". Brilliant Venus was nearby, to the left of the moon. Both simultaneously fit within the 8 degree field of my 8x42 binoculars. As twilight deepened, earthshine became more easily visible, allowing easy recognition of the darker maria contrasting with the brighter highland regions. The gray-blue earthshine features were particularly nice when viewed with 20x80 binoculars.

Sketcher,
In the right place at the right time.

It was a spectacular sight. I was visiting my daughter and her husband and pointed the pair out to them. Now they want me to give them one of my old telescopes... maybe I'll make an amateur out of her yet!

palsing wrote:
On Wednesday, January 21, 2015 at 8:32:52 PM UTC-8, Sketcher wrote:
Few naked eye celestial spectacles can compare with the beauty of a
crescent moon near Venus in the morning or evening sky.

This evening the thin, illuminated arc of moon extended noticeably less
than half the circumference of the lunar "disk". Brilliant Venus was
nearby, to the left of the moon. Both simultaneously fit within the 8
degree field of my 8x42 binoculars. As twilight deepened, earthshine
became more easily visible, allowing easy recognition of the darker
maria contrasting with the brighter highland regions. The gray-blue
earthshine features were particularly nice when viewed with 20x80 binoculars.

Sketcher,
In the right place at the right time.

It was a spectacular sight. I was visiting my daughter and her husband
and pointed the pair out to them. Now they want me to give them one of my
old telescopes... maybe I'll make an amateur out of her yet!

Did either of you observe Mercury? I was looking forward to seeing all
three in the same field but the cloud was 8/8 and it was pouring with rain.

On Thursday, January 22, 2015 at 12:53:54 AM UTC-8, Mike Collins wrote:
palsing wrote:
On Wednesday, January 21, 2015 at 8:32:52 PM UTC-8, Sketcher wrote:
Few naked eye celestial spectacles can compare with the beauty of a
crescent moon near Venus in the morning or evening sky.

This evening the thin, illuminated arc of moon extended noticeably less
than half the circumference of the lunar "disk". Brilliant Venus was
nearby, to the left of the moon. Both simultaneously fit within the 8
degree field of my 8x42 binoculars. As twilight deepened, earthshine
became more easily visible, allowing easy recognition of the darker
maria contrasting with the brighter highland regions. The gray-blue
earthshine features were particularly nice when viewed with 20x80 binoculars.

Sketcher,
In the right place at the right time.

It was a spectacular sight. I was visiting my daughter and her husband
and pointed the pair out to them. Now they want me to give them one of my
old telescopes... maybe I'll make an amateur out of her yet!

Did either of you observe Mercury? I was looking forward to seeing all
three in the same field but the cloud was 8/8 and it was pouring with rain.

I did NOT see Mercury, but it was still a little early when we looked, the sky was pretty bright...

\Paul A

palsing wrote:
On Thursday, January 22, 2015 at 12:53:54 AM UTC-8, Mike Collins wrote:
palsing wrote:
On Wednesday, January 21, 2015 at 8:32:52 PM UTC-8, Sketcher wrote:
Few naked eye celestial spectacles can compare with the beauty of a
crescent moon near Venus in the morning or evening sky.

This evening the thin, illuminated arc of moon extended noticeably less
than half the circumference of the lunar "disk". Brilliant Venus was
nearby, to the left of the moon. Both simultaneously fit within the 8
degree field of my 8x42 binoculars. As twilight deepened, earthshine
became more easily visible, allowing easy recognition of the darker
maria contrasting with the brighter highland regions. The gray-blue
earthshine features were particularly nice when viewed with 20x80 binoculars.

Sketcher,
In the right place at the right time.

It was a spectacular sight. I was visiting my daughter and her husband
and pointed the pair out to them. Now they want me to give them one of my
old telescopes... maybe I'll make an amateur out of her yet!

Did either of you observe Mercury? I was looking forward to seeing all
three in the same field but the cloud was 8/8 and it was pouring with rain.

I did NOT see Mercury, but it was still a little early when we looked,
the sky was pretty bright...

\Paul A

The sky cleared for a few minutes tonight but I only had the iPhone with
me. Mercury was too low to be seen.

https://picasaweb.google.com/1122531...31247444040226

https://picasaweb.google.com/1122531...31290781433522

http://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-wD...o/IMG_1229.JPG

I'll have to start carrying a camera and tripod.

For one reason or another Mercury went unnoticed. Mercury may have been too low in my sky at the time of my observation. I knew it was in the general area, but I didn't know where. A star was spotted 1.5 degrees to the left of Venus, but I was reasonably sure (by its appearance) that it wasn't Mercury. The star was later identified as Deneb Algedi aka Delta Cap. Mercury would have been near the edge of the 8 degree FOV of the 8x42s when the binoculars were centered midway between Venus and the moon (but I was unaware of this at the time). I started my observation (late) as soon as I got home and was curious as to how well lunar features would become visible as the sky got darker - enhancing the visibility of the earthshine. Once I started observing the moon with the 20x80s (with their three degree FOV) there was no longer any chance of seeing Mercury. (I was lucky to have seen Venus and the moon. I was unaware they would be near one another until I happened to see them!)

Sketcher

On Thursday, January 22, 2015 at 1:53:54 AM UTC-7, Mike Collins wrote:

Did either of you observe Mercury? I was looking forward to seeing all
three in the same field but the cloud was 8/8 and it was pouring with rain.

Sketcher wrote:
For one reason or another Mercury went unnoticed. Mercury may have been
too low in my sky at the time of my observation. I knew it was in the
general area, but I didn't know where. A star was spotted 1.5 degrees to
the left of Venus, but I was reasonably sure (by its appearance) that it
wasn't Mercury. The star was later identified as Deneb Algedi aka Delta
Cap. Mercury would have been near the edge of the 8 degree FOV of the
8x42s when the binoculars were centered midway between Venus and the moon
(but I was unaware of this at the time). I started my observation (late)
as soon as I got home and was curious as to how well lunar features would
become visible as the sky got darker - enhancing the visibility of the
earthshine. Once I started observing the moon with the 20x80s (with
their three degree FOV) there was no longer any chance of seeing Mercury.
(I was lucky to have seen Venus and the moon. I was unaware they would
be near one another until I happened to see them!)

Sketcher

On Thursday, January 22, 2015 at 1:53:54 AM UTC-7, Mike Collins wrote:

Did either of you observe Mercury? I was looking forward to seeing all
three in the same field but the cloud was 8/8 and it was pouring with rain.

I managed a few glimpses of Mercury today from one of the village greens
but it was only 5 degrees high at 17:05 GMT. If I hadn't known that it was
exactly half the altitude of Venus and just above the ecliptic I would
never have seen it. It's unlikely that I will see it again until the next
evening apparition in April/May,

Yes, Stellarium is a beautiful piece of software. I've had various versions of Stellarium on my computers for . . . I don't recall how many years. The people who have contributed to it and kept it free have performed a great service for all who have a passion for astronomy. That being said, it would be impractical for me to consult software prior to each and every observation I undertake.

Sketcher,
To sketch is to see.

On Saturday, January 24, 2015 at 6:49:38 PM UTC-7, Lord Androcles wrote:
If you or Sketcher are ever uncertain of the position of a planet or star
you can always refer to Stellarium. It's free and I would gladly pay for it
if it wasn't.
http://www.stellarium.org/en_GB/

On Sunday, January 25, 2015 at 8:04:20 PM UTC, Sketcher wrote:
Yes, Stellarium is a beautiful piece of software.


You mean celestial sphere software which imposes a restriction on the observer and specifically the observed motion of the stars behind the central Sun in sequence due solely to the orbital motion of the Earth -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9x5pbI5E3P4

The demonstration actually goes out of its way to point out Sirius within the same celestial sphere thereby destroying the referencing system for the number of times the Earth turns in an orbital circuit.

It is like spoiled children who refuse to accept the 365/366 day/rotation format for Ra/Dec and its celestial sphere purpose while ignoring the system of 365 1/4 rotations per orbital circuit which uses the background stars without any circumpolar structure.

On Sun, 25 Jan 2015 12:04:17 -0800 (PST), Sketcher
wrote this crap:

Yes, Stellarium is a beautiful piece of software. I've had various
versions of Stellarium on my computers for . . . I don't recall how
many years. The people who have contributed to it and kept it
free have performed a great service for all who have a passion
for astronomy. That being said, it would be impractical for me
to consult software prior to each and every observation I undertake.

Is it that difficult to use? I use Redshift.


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