This week the waning moon joined four planets in the eastern sky. Lowest to the horizon was Mercury with Saturn just above. The moon was located well above that pair. And high in the sky were Mars and Jupiter.
Earlier this month on 07 January 2018, Mars and Jupiter were in conjunction. The pair was only 0.25 degrees apart in the sky at its closest. By comparison, the full moon is approximately 0.50 degrees. And, then, on 13 January 2018, Mercury and Saturn were in conjunction—but not quite as close as the Mars-Jupiter conjunction.
On the 14th and 15th, the Moon was just above and just below the pair of Mercury and Saturn.
The waning crescent moon (~5% illuminated) sits above the planetary pair of Mercury and Saturn.A wider view shows all four planets (Mercury and Saturn low; Mars and Jupiter high) plus the moon.
I had planned to photograph on both days but clouds intervened. All I got was this thin crescent Moon (~2% illuminated) that was visible for only a few minutes before it was obscured by clouds.
A thin crescent moon is visible for just a moment after moonrise.
Coming up: at the end of the month there will be a total lunar eclipse that will be visible in the pre-dawn hours of the western states. I hope the skies are clear.
The past few weeks have offered a few interesting objects in the night sky + one daytime event.
Comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresák has been an easily photographed comet—albeit not a very bright one—in the northern sky. The first image below was taken during the interval 2103–2153 MST 15 April 2017 and is comet-centric which shows its motion amongst the stars over that period. The second image was captured during the interval 2117–2221 MST 16 April 2017.
Earlier in the month the full Moon and planet Jupiter rose together in the sky above the stark—but colorful—landscape of Wupatki National Monument.
Moon and Jupiter rising above Wupatki National Monument.
A few days later the International Space Station (ISS) could be seen rising in the northwest then moving towards the southwest. Along the way, it passed very close to the belt of Orion, then faded away as it entered Earths shadow. The ISS track—and the stars—were reflected in the waters of Lake Mary.
ISS transiting the western sky.
Mars and Pleiades were close together in the evening sky on 21 April 2017. Here they are seen shortly after sunset with some lingering color still present on the western horizon. Mars and Pleiades can also be seen as colorful reflections in the waters of Lake Mary.
Mars and Pleiades in the western sky.
Although I have photographed the International Space Station (ISS) transiting the face of the Moon, this is the first time I’ve tried a solar transit. The ISS moved from the 5 o’clock position towards the 9 o’clock position in just under 1/2 second.
International Space Station transitting the sun.
On 27 April 2017 a crescent supermoon was visible in the western sky. What is a “crescent supermoon?” From SpaceWeather.com…
What made the crescent “super”? Anyone reading NASA press releases in recent years has heard of “supermoons” — full Moons that are extra big and bright because they occur on the perigee side of the Moon’s elliptical orbit. Last night’s sky show was the same phenomenon, writ slender. The crescent Moon of April 27th occurred at perigee, making it as much as 14% wider and 30% brighter than other crescent Moons of the year.
I had hoped for still waters so that I could get a nice reflection but strong and gusty winds continued well into the evening.
The past week has been bountiful for photographing objects in the night sky. These objects include Mercury, Venus, Mars, the Moon, and the Zodiacal Light.
In mid-March the planet Venus was an evening object but was dropping closer to the horizon each evening. At the same time, Mercury was rising higher each day. On 18 March 2017, they were roughly side by side and presented an interesting spectacle in the evening twilight.
Venus and Mercury in the evening twilight above the Kachina Wetlands. Venus can be seen just to the right of center of the image; Mercury is left of center.
The following night I returned to Kachina Wetlands but later in the evening to capture the Zodiacal Light. The Zodiacal Light is a faint, roughly triangular, diffuse white glow seen in the night sky that appears to extend up from the vicinity of the Sun along the ecliptic or zodiac.
Zodiacal Light (28mm focal length).
A week later I attempted the same photograph except using an ultra-wide angle lens (i.e., 16mm focal length) to capture the Zodiacal Light as well as the constellation Pleiades in the upper portion of the cone of light.
Zodiacal Light (16 mm focal length).
A few days later, the moon had reappeared in the evening sky. With just 1.4% of the disk illuminated it can be difficult to see. Making it much harder was the showery weather and abundance of clouds. But just before the moon set behind the trees it was visible in the gap below the clouds and the horizon.
A bonus was the very nice sunset colors reflected in the waters of Lake Mary while waiting for the moon to make an appearance.
Sunset colors reflected in Lake Mary.Crescent Moon.
One day later, I tried again. This time the skies were clear and it was possible to capture an image with the 3M’s: Mercury, Mars, and the Moon. While waiting for the sky to darken enough for the planets to become visible I was able to capture an image of the moon with sunset colors still visible.
Crescent Moon above Lake Mary.
As twilight faded away Mercury and Mars became visible and the triplet made a triangle in the western sky.
Mercury, Moon, and Mars in the evening sky. Mercury is located at the “4 o’clock” position relative to the Moon; Mars in at the “12:30 position.”Mercury, Moon, and Mars in the evening sky.
An active weather pattern is in place across the southwest at this time and it may be several days before the skies become clear again.
