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Moon, Venus and Jupiter on parade in west...
AndyG
post Feb 28 2012, 12:44 PM
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QUOTE (NickF @ Feb 27 2012, 01:05 AM) *
Admiring dazzling Venus on this chilly Michigan evening I wondered this: if it had a moon of similar size and orbital characteristics to our own, would it be a naked eye object?

Yes, for much of its orbit - and not too lost in glare. A quick calculation here (there's nothing better to do since I'm clouded out from any observing today) and I'm getting a range of magnitudes for the Venusian Moon up to "our Mars" in terms of brightness. The separation is impressive: at favourable points in its orbit, there'd be .3 to .5 degrees between Venus and its Moon. (Contemplative Alternative History Guess) For pre-telescopic observers I suspect a heliocentric theory would develop quite quickly. rolleyes.gif

What would be particularly cute is that there would be stages in the orbit where Moonshine or Venusshine would be telescopically obvious.

Andy
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ceramicfundament...
post Mar 2 2012, 04:01 PM
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For the past two weeks I've been insanely jealous of everyone posting pics of Venus, Jupiter, Mercury and the moon all over the internet. In my neck of the woods it's been cloudy since the middle of January!!! But last night the temperature got down really low, around -20C, most of the haze and cloud disappeared from the sky, and I made a trek through the snow up to the top of the hill behind the house. That's where I got this gem of Jupiter, Venus and Mercury.

This was my first time ever observing Mercury, after nearly 15 years of looking at the night sky. It was cold out there - by the end of the session my fingers were so numb I couldn't feel where the buttons were on my camera, at that point I was more or less randomly touching the camera and hoping that I was getting it right. But it was so worth it.
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Tesheiner
post Mar 2 2012, 07:52 PM
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QUOTE (ceramicfundamentalist @ Mar 2 2012, 05:01 PM) *
But it was so worth it.

Definitely! smile.gif
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Stu
post Mar 2 2012, 10:57 PM
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FINALLY, after a week of cloudy skies, we got to see Venus and Jupiter again tonight...

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mhoward
post Mar 3 2012, 01:50 AM
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The second one is fantastic.
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nprev
post Mar 3 2012, 02:34 AM
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Beautiful, Stu.

Had my first good look at them last night due to local weather as well. Always enjoy V-J close approaches.


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bkellysky
post Mar 3 2012, 02:55 AM
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Nice shots, folks!! Stu - good to see people out there taking in the sight!

bkellysky.wordpress.com
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Syrinx
post Mar 3 2012, 06:24 AM
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I saw Mercury tonight for the first time in my life, 6:45pm. Easily visible and well above the Santa Cruz mountains to the west. It was about 2x higher in the sky than I was expecting. The next several nights look to be great opportunities for Mercury viewing here in the CA Bay Area.
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Stu
post Mar 3 2012, 08:37 AM
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Thanks for the comments everyone, much appreciated.

Couple more of my pics from last night up on a Spaceweather.com page:

http://tinyurl.com/854dl96



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bkellysky
post Mar 5 2012, 12:44 AM
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I've posted some more photos I took Saturday evening.
I don't have access to nearby castles (sorry Stu!), but the local high school is one of the highest places in town, so I was able to add Mercury, low in the west, to my photos of Jupiter and Venus. (Despite the 10 to 20 mile per hour winds shaking my tripod!)
Mercury was furthest out from the Sun today - see it soon as it will get dimmer quickly this week and next.
After you find Venus and Mercury, turn around and see Mars rising in the east.
(See my photo of Mars and surrounding stars.) We are closest to Mars on the 5th, so it's brightest and largest now. If you get a night with steady air, start with low power and then see how much magnification you can get out of your telescope. Can you pick out the gray patches of rock peeking out from the salmon-colored sands of Mars? There was a small part of the North Polar Cap (or some remaining clouds) still visible at one end of the planet when I looked last week. Mars is still tiny, even at high power, but it's worth a look. Just imagine yourself as an astronomer of old who watched the darker areas increasing as the polar cap shrank and thinking the darker area might be plant life (instead of dust being blown off volcanic rock).
I also got a nice 20-second exposure of Orion with the Hyades and Pleiades.
I'll post my friend's rotating Mars time lapse later tonight.
To avoid taking up space here: see http://bkellysky.wordpress.com/

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Stu
post Mar 5 2012, 12:46 AM
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Teeth-shatteringly cold, crystal clear night in Kendal tonight, so of *course* I was at work!! But I dashed out in my break to grab a few photos, and was very glad I did...

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...and my best ever image of Mercury, which was almost embarrassingly easy to find tonight...

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Worth half an hour of dashing around like a lunatic! laugh.gif


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Stu
post Mar 11 2012, 10:21 AM
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Fantastic planet-watching night last night, took what I suspect will end up being my best pics of the whole conjunction...

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Full write-up, with lots more pics, at...

http://cumbriansky.wordpress.com/2012/03/1...nexpected-treat


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bkellysky
post Mar 15 2012, 10:29 PM
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Lots of people have been asking me about those two brilliant dots in the evening sky! They have been pleasantly surprised that they really can see this astronomical event I was telling them about (not always the case).

I think this photo shows just how noticeable Jupiter and Venus are in the evening sky.
The planets are the two white dots below center.
I took this photo in my car, while stopped at the (long) light, a 2 second exposure while holding the camera on the steering wheel. (Compressed to fit this site.)
So, even amidst the lights of suburban New York City, I was able to see this outstanding sight!

bob


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Stu
post Mar 15 2012, 11:22 PM
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I honestly think stargazers and skywatchers in Mordor would have more luck seeing this conjunction than I'm having here in Kendal. Since I took those last photos the sky has been hidden by a thick, heavy, sagging quilt of dank grey cloud, and the closest approach has come and gone, unseen by myself and anyone else in my part of the world. Absolutely shocking, and more than a little depressing to see all the gorgeous photos on websites and imagine the pictures I might have taken from the castle. I know frustration with the weather goes hand in hand with amateur astronomy, but jeez, this has been dreadful.

I'm now pinning my hopes on Monday night, when Venus will be shining above Jupiter, because I've always thought that vertical planetary arrangements are more striking than horizontal ones.


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bkellysky
post Mar 16 2012, 01:55 AM
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Hi, Stu,
It looks like the most vertical* will be about the 25th or 26th, but about 10 degrees apart. The Moon joins them then, as well. But it'll be a great sight anytime this month and early April, so I hope that sometime in the second half of the month you get a spell of good weather.

*I ran Cartes du Ciel for my location, at 41 degrees latitude. Verticality may be on a slightly different date for other latitudes!

all the best,
bob
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