Venus Crescent

2021-12-23Jim R 2 Comments

We went to a spot with a clear southwest view hoping to see comet Leonard. The conditions weren’t quite favorable. Instead, we admired the alignment of Jupiter, Saturn, and Venus. I pointed my camera on full zoom to Venus. It is currently rounding its orbit and passing us between the Sun and Earth. See the orbit diagram below.

We are seeing mostly the shadowed side of Venus. A thin crescent reflects off its surface. In the early days of January it will be almost directly between us and the Sun and not visible in the glare. It will emerge in the early morning hours by mid-January. It will remain our morning companion until October. This thinning crescent remains as our last view of 2021. The crescent will reverse next month.

Canon PowerShot SX60 HS | ISO 800 | 1/400 s

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Angle of Sunlight Over Time

2021-12-21Jim R 17 Comments

I conducted a long series of observations for nearly 4 months. No scientific discoveries were expected. I was just curious.

We have a window that faces south. In the summer months, the roof overhang blocked the sunlight from shining through the glass. Starting about September 1st, the lower elevation angle of the Sun at noon allowed it to shine onto the floor. As the weeks passed, the shadow of the window sill moved farther from the wall. I found a long strip of paper to record the edge of the shadow of the sill at various dates. This image illustrates the sunlight paths for the 1st of Sep, Oct, Nov, and Dec.

Light rays over the window sill at the four selected dates.

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Can I See the Big Moon Again?

2021-12-11Jim R 19 Comments

The Moon was aligned with Jupiter, Saturn, and Venus last night Dec. 10. We were visiting our son, his wife, and our 2 ½ year old grandson. I set up their telescope after dinner for some views. First was the Moon. This image is a composite by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter for last night and shows our view.

Our grandson was first in line to look. He placed his face close to the eyepiece the way he saw me do it. I could see the bright moonlight through the eyepiece was shining on his nose. With some careful nudging, I was able to move his head to the side just enough so the moonlight shined into one of his eyes. Then, I heard a giggle. What a satisfying sound to hear. He pulled away and looked up at the Moon. He went back to the eyepiece and there was another giggle. I said to him that it was very cool. He agreed and said the big moon was cool.

After everyone had a good look, I pointed the scope to Jupiter, Saturn, and then the crescent Venus. After our grandson saw Venus, he asked to see the big moon again. Of course, I was happy to give him as many views as possible. Tonight will be clear again. We will take another look.

Lunar Eclipse For Night Owls

2021-11-17Jim R 17 Comments

The Moon passes through the darkest part of the Earth’s shadow in the early morning hours of 19 Nov 2021. Normally, that would be called a total lunar eclipse. Not quite this time. About 3% of the Moon will not enter the umbra at 3:03 am. But, it will still be a worthy sight. This diagram from Sky & Telescope shows the details for the central time zone in the US. More information can be found at this S&T url.