What did you see in the sky tonight?

[Ann]

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Beautiful sunrise this morning
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But as the Earth rotates in our solar system
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Gravity makes it hard to sense its perspective like this

Really nice, but... hey, Fred, I thought folks like you were upside down?

Ann

[Ann]

Rising moon and mountain bluebird, set in the Belt of Venus. Moon one day post equinox, one day pre full.
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E7_41791p.jpg

Lovely picture. Lovely composition, lovely colors.

Three thoughts: I once showed a colleague the full Moon when it was not in the Belt of Venus, but in the blue of the rising Earth shadow. She couldn't believe how the Moon could be seen so clearly right through that "cloud bank", and I had to explain it to her.

I wish I could see the plumage of that mountain blue bird!

And I envy you for being visited by mountain blue birds.

Ann

[Chris Peterson]

And I envy you for being visited by mountain blue birds.

They are one of our primary harbingers of spring, showing up in mid-February, the males intensely sky blue. Now, they are close to leaving for the winter, and the males have faded considerably, and are only a little more colorful than the females.

[BDanielMayfield]

Mars (I think) in a remarkable close conjunction with a bright star? When I saw it tonight I did a double-take because Mars and the other object were so close. I hope someone can take and post a photo of it.

Bruce

[Ann]

Mars (I think) in a remarkable close conjunction with a bright star? When I saw it tonight I did a double-take because Mars and the other object were so close. I hope someone can take and post a photo of it.

Bruce

How strange. This page says nothing about a conjunction of any kind on October 7 or 8. As for Mars, it is in Capricorn, and there are no bright stars or (at present) any other planets in Capricorn.

I wonder what you saw.

Ann

[BDanielMayfield]

Mars (I think) in a remarkable close conjunction with a bright star? When I saw it tonight I did a double-take because Mars and the other object were so close. I hope someone can take and post a photo of it.

Bruce

How strange. This page says nothing about a conjunction of any kind on October 7 or 8. As for Mars, it is in Capricorn, and there are no bright stars or (at present) any other planets in Capricorn.

I wonder what you saw.

Ann

It was strange. Tonight the seeing is excellent, better than last night, and there was Mars, looking as bright as last night but completely normal. Last night I remember even rubbing my eyes a little because I couldn't hardly believe what I was seeing. Then I went inside to get a pair of binoculars, went back out and there were apparently two objects, both orange white and of about equal brightness, aligned vertically. I thought, wow, Mars must be right on top of Antares, but no, Antares isn't in this part of the sky, is it? I came inside, quickly fired off last night's post and then did my own search of S&T's and Astronomy's websites to see if there was anything special happening with Mars. Nada.

I can only conclude that I was seeing a doubled image of Mars, but why? I wasn't drunk (had had only one beer hours earlier), and nothing else appeared doubled. The doubling effect was confirmed through binoculars, and there was no stellar twinkling apparent on either object. It must have been some kind of a mirage effect, but Mars was about 35 degrees above my horizon, which was concealed behind trees along our neighbors fenceline.

Is seeing a reflected image of a planet that high above the horizon possible? I wouldn't have thought so before last night, but it apparently happened.

Bruce

[Fred the Cat]

There were rings "around" the moon tonight.

On high res' anyways!

[BDanielMayfield]

Mars (I think) in a remarkable close conjunction with a bright star? When I saw it tonight I did a double-take because Mars and the other object were so close. I hope someone can take and post a photo of it.

Bruce

How strange. This page says nothing about a conjunction of any kind on October 7 or 8. As for Mars, it is in Capricorn, and there are no bright stars or (at present) any other planets in Capricorn.

I wonder what you saw.

Ann

It was strange. Tonight the seeing is excellent, better than last night, and there was Mars, looking as bright as last night but completely normal. Last night I remember even rubbing my eyes a little because I couldn't hardly believe what I was seeing. Then I went inside to get a pair of binoculars, went back out and there were apparently two objects, both orange white and of about equal brightness, aligned vertically. I thought, wow, Mars must be right on top of Antares, but no, Antares isn't in this part of the sky, is it? I came inside, quickly fired off last night's post and then did my own search of S&T's and Astronomy's websites to see if there was anything special happening with Mars. Nada.

I can only conclude that I was seeing a doubled image of Mars, but why? I wasn't drunk (had had only one beer hours earlier), and nothing else appeared doubled. The doubling effect was confirmed through binoculars, and there was no stellar twinkling apparent on either object. It must have been some kind of a mirage effect, but Mars was about 35 degrees above my horizon, which was concealed behind trees along our neighbors fenceline.

Is seeing a reflected image of a planet that high above the horizon possible? I wouldn't have thought so before last night, but it apparently happened.

Bruce

No, it didn't, really.

Tonight I saw a similar looking doubled Mars, but then I squinted my eyes and the doubling effect went away. I looked for other bright points of light and there it was, a double image of distant man made lights and just barely of the brighter stars. I could make this effect go away by squinting.

Clearly, this is something happening with my vision. I turned 60 this summer and I wear eyeglasses for nearsightedness. This is something to watch and talk to an optometrist about at my next eye exam.

Bruce

[Fred the Cat]

How strange. This page says nothing about a conjunction of any kind on October 7 or 8. As for Mars, it is in Capricorn, and there are no bright stars or (at present) any other planets in Capricorn.

I wonder what you saw.

Ann

It was strange. Tonight the seeing is excellent, better than last night, and there was Mars, looking as bright as last night but completely normal. Last night I remember even rubbing my eyes a little because I couldn't hardly believe what I was seeing. Then I went inside to get a pair of binoculars, went back out and there were apparently two objects, both orange white and of about equal brightness, aligned vertically. I thought, wow, Mars must be right on top of Antares, but no, Antares isn't in this part of the sky, is it? I came inside, quickly fired off last night's post and then did my own search of S&T's and Astronomy's websites to see if there was anything special happening with Mars. Nada.

I can only conclude that I was seeing a doubled image of Mars, but why? I wasn't drunk (had had only one beer hours earlier), and nothing else appeared doubled. The doubling effect was confirmed through binoculars, and there was no stellar twinkling apparent on either object. It must have been some kind of a mirage effect, but Mars was about 35 degrees above my horizon, which was concealed behind trees along our neighbors fenceline.

Is seeing a reflected image of a planet that high above the horizon possible? I wouldn't have thought so before last night, but it apparently happened.

Bruce

No, it didn't, really.

Tonight I saw a similar looking doubled Mars, but then I squinted my eyes and the doubling effect went away. I looked for other bright points of light and there it was, a double image of distant man made lights and just barely of the brighter stars. I could make this effect go away by squinting.

Clearly, this is something happening with my vision. I turned 60 this summer and I wear eyeglasses for nearsightedness. This is something to watch and talk to an optometrist about at my next eye exam.

Bruce

I suffer from astigmatism and often see stars as two points until I refocus. Optics have really helped humans on the world; looking outward and inward.

People have different views of the world depending on how they perceive it but, for most, it's from a physical condition rather than one formed from a mental perspective. Of course then I wouldn't expect the universe to be flat.

[CURRAHEE CHRIS]

Well, for once luck was on my side here in Central Pa. I was able to catch all five planets last night- Mars, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn in the sky altogether. It was really a beautiful night for viewing. I am hoping these clear skies stay with us over the weekend.

[Chris Peterson]

Well, for once luck was on my side here in Central Pa. I was able to catch all five planets last night- Mars, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn in the sky altogether. It was really a beautiful night for viewing. I am hoping these clear skies stay with us over the weekend.

Did you use a telescope? Venus is currently setting before the Sun, and I wouldn't think it is possible to see Mercury right now, given how low it is at sunset.

[CURRAHEE CHRIS]

Well, for once luck was on my side here in Central Pa. I was able to catch all five planets last night- Mars, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn in the sky altogether. It was really a beautiful night for viewing. I am hoping these clear skies stay with us over the weekend.

Did you use a telescope? Venus is currently setting before the Sun, and I wouldn't think it is possible to see Mercury right now, given how low it is at sunset.

Hello- yes, I did use a telescope but was also able to see them with the naked eye I believe? According to my program I am using (Stardome from Astronomy.com) it appears as if everything was in alignment to see all five planets during an approximate 60 minute window before Venus and the sunset. Please correct me if I am wrong as I want to make sure I am doing this correctly.

Best regards
Chris

[Chris Peterson]

Well, for once luck was on my side here in Central Pa. I was able to catch all five planets last night- Mars, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn in the sky altogether. It was really a beautiful night for viewing. I am hoping these clear skies stay with us over the weekend.

Did you use a telescope? Venus is currently setting before the Sun, and I wouldn't think it is possible to see Mercury right now, given how low it is at sunset.

Hello- yes, I did use a telescope but was also able to see them with the naked eye I believe? According to my program I am using (Stardome from Astronomy.com) it appears as if everything was in alignment to see all five planets during an approximate 60 minute window before Venus and the sunset. Please correct me if I am wrong as I want to make sure I am doing this correctly.

Best regards
Chris

They were all in the sky before sunset. But I don't think you could see Mercury before sunset even with a telescope. Mars (in its current position), Jupiter, and Saturn are all pretty easy daytime telescopic targets, but none of them seem bright enough right now to see with the eye while the Sun is above the horizon. The only planets I've seen in the daytime sky without aid are Jupiter, Saturn, and Venus. The latter is pretty easy; the former two require that they're near their peak brightness, and are hard to locate without binoculars or close proximity to the Moon, and are easy to lose once you get your eyes on them.

[Fred the Cat]

Under cloudy conditions this morning it was fun playing with various camera settings.

1/2 sec f5.6 55mm ISO 1600

1/30 sec f5.6 194mm ISO 1600

1/8 sec f5.6 163mm ISO 400

[Fred the Cat]

Talk about an odd coincidence. I was trying to take a photo of Mars and the moon tonight...

... and a plane photo-bombed my image.

How about the moon..

..then Mars!

Less chance of an "incidence".

[AKonaRose]

Where do I post a question about something different I saw about 1-1/2 hours ago in the night sky? Location: West side Big Island Hawai'i, facing west/southwest. This event occurred just above (about 1:00) of either Rigel or Canis Minor (I do not have a good star chart at the moment). I think it was Rigil. Please help. Oh- it's hard to get an answer from Keck or NASA so I searched for a sky forum. Thank you in advance.

[BDanielMayfield]

Where do I post a question about something different I saw about 1-1/2 hours ago in the night sky? Location: West side Big Island Hawai'i, facing west/southwest. This event occurred just above (about 1:00) of either Rigel or Canis Minor (I do not have a good star chart at the moment). I think it was Rigil. Please help. Oh- it's hard to get an answer from Keck or NASA so I searched for a sky forum. Thank you in advance.

What did you see? This is a fine place to post your question.

[AKonaRose]

There was a large flash of light, about 1:00 of what was likely Rigel. I was looking at the star. The light emanated from the exact center, spread into a circle of about 3 mm, and quickly turned back to blackness again. Was anything, any remnant of light expected in that vicinity at that time? Very perplexing.

[BDanielMayfield]

There was a large flash of light, about 1:00 of what was likely Rigel. I was looking at the star. The light emanated from the exact center, spread into a circle of about 3 mm, and quickly turned back to blackness again. Was anything, any remnant of light expected in that vicinity at that time? Very perplexing.

Could a meteor heading straight at an observer produce such a sighting?

[Ann]

It's been incredibly overcast and murky in Malmö lately, so I was glad to see the elegant yellow-reddened full Moon rise in the east and shine serenely through a thin curtain of diaphanous clouds. I saw Vega high in the west, too.

Of course, now the Moon and Vega are gone again. You can't ask too much from Malmö in late November!

Ann

[Chris Peterson]

46P
It's getting easy to see. Once I pick it out in binoculars I can see it with direct vision now. These are two crops from the same image, just 15 seconds with my Canon 7D, ISO 3200, 14mm f/2.8 lens. The wide field includes Orion to the Pleiades, with the comet over towards the right side, close to the Pleiades than Orion. It's a lot easier to pick out in the narrower field. When it gets a little closer to the Pleiades I'll shoot a guided shot through the telescope, which should get a lot deeper.
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[neufer]

46P

It's getting easy to see. Once I pick it out in binoculars I can see it with direct vision now. These are two crops from the same image, just 15 seconds with my Canon 7D, ISO 3200, 14mm f/2.8 lens. The wide field includes Orion to the Pleiades, with the comet over towards the right side, close to the Pleiades than Orion. It's a lot easier to pick out in the narrower field. When it gets a little closer to the Pleiades I'll shoot a guided shot through the telescope, which should get a lot deeper.

• And there's Juno in retrograde between #17 and #21 & #22:

Swing By Juno On Your Way To Comet Wirtanen

Click on Chris's (top) wide angle shot above

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[Fred the Cat]

Thank you! It has been so cloudy in the Pacific Northwest it is amazing to it how it appears from a clear, dark location.

[Fred the Cat]

Geminids didn't disappoint last night. For the first time in many showers here, we saw plenty (they were slow compared to others) in the time spent outside. Seeing was good and the weather cooperated. I tried to spot the comet but did not have much luck. Despite knowing it was right next to ξ Tauri I could not see it with binoculars. Maybe the camera?

Looking at another map it appears I may have been looking in the wrong place? I don't know but it'll be worth another look tonight and to watch the Geminids again.

[Chris Peterson]

Geminids didn't disappoint last night.

Good here, too. My camera caught 231 meteors on the evening of the 13/14.
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