Moon Preparing to Eclipse Mars: Photos

This morning I got out to take pictures of Mars and the moon in proximity in Taurus.  The shots are very light because it was just before sunrise, and also there is an Airport over the Eastern horizon where I am, which throws a lot of light into the sky.  If I had been able to take pictures 30 minutes earlier, perhaps the image would be sharper, but it was cool to watch in the dawn twilight!  At about 10am the Moon will begin to eclipse Mars, but the sky in North America will be too bright to see it.  However, for those in Honolulu or on a boat in the middle of the North Pacific, the Sun at that moment will not yet be risen, and the eclipse will be visible.  On the other side of the ocean, in Japan and Asia, the horizon will hide the eclipse event, and Mars will rise in front of the Moon, instead of behind like it did here.  JB882JAEFVCR

Mars, Moon, Taurus, Jupiter - 4:43am, July 27, 2011

Moon, Mars in proximity in Taurus: Pictures

Last night I went out with the camera to try and take a picture of Mars and the Moon in proximity, within the constellation Taurus, which at 3:25am would look like this:

3:25am, July 26 2011, Eastern Sky

The moon coming into proximity with Mars in the morning had been on my radar since the Moon last lapped Mars a month ago.  It looked good on Stellarium and I posted about it here, but it was still too close to the horizon and the Sunrise for good pictures.  The Eastern horizon where I am has city lights which dim the stars in that part of the sky.  A month ago the proximity event looked like this: 

4:15am, June 28 2011, Eastern Sky

The moon passes by Mars about once a month as they travel the ecliptic, but sometimes they can't be seen together because it happens in the vicinity of the Sun.  In fact, Mars is only now emerging from behind the Sun after being obscured by it for nearly a year! Last year on this day, Mars was visible in the evening, but each night it inched closer and closer to the spot of the sunset on the horizon until finally, by Summer's end it had slipped under the horizon and behind the Sun for a long sleep.  Now that Mars has emerged at dawn, I was looking forward to getting pictures of it and the moon, which haven't been seen together for over a year!  I went out to a nearby spot where I thought the Eastern horizon would have less light pollution:

Aldebaran, Moon and Taurus rising - click to enlarge

It looked like clouds would ruin the show.  By the time I got set up and took a few pictures, Mars still hadn't shown up and more clouds were blowing in.  I took about 2 dozen photos here, but only a couple turned out any good.  Here is a messy one in which Jupiter is visible in the upper right along with the Moon and the Pleiades:

Jupiter, Moon and Pleiades, 3:30am, July 26, 2011

I gave up on the whole thing and went home.  I worked for a bit, but then noticed the sky had cleared just as dawn was cracking.  I got set up and managed to get the following shot:

Moon, Mars, Aldebaran proximity, 4:25am July 26, 2011 - click to enlarge

This picture turned out quite sharp and revealed a lot of stars, in spite of light pollution and being close to dawn.  But I really could not see the bright red quality of Mars, and in any case, the real proximity event is tonight, when the Moon becomes a thin crescent and bears right down on Mars:

The moon will practically be on top of Mars!  I wonder if it's light will not drown Mars out in any pictures I take?  I hope I can produce better pictures tonight.  It's too bad- the Sun will rise before I'll be able to see the Moon eclipse Mars. People living in Honolulu can see the eclipse just before their sunrise, which is later than here.  Any eclipse is a rare event.  Mars and the Moon will be in proximity once a month for the next many months now.  Also, since Mars has emerged, rising in front of the Sun, it will continue to get brighter and more visible as it moves closer to the earth in its orbit and further from the point of the sunrise, higher into the night sky! 

Libra, Scorpius, Antares in the South: Photos

Last night, well after sunset, I went out with my camera to find Scorpio conveniently hanging in a dip in the horizon.  The best photo from the set shows not only Scorpio but parts of Libra and Ophiucus, and almost looks like a daytime shot:

Scorpius - click photos to enlarge

I was pretty impressed to see so many stars in the picture which I could not see with the naked eye, such as Sabik and others from Ophiucus and Zubeneschamali and others from Libra poking out of the clouds.  Scorpius's stars, including the 15th brightest of all, Antares; as well as Alniyat, Acrab, Dschubba, and a host of others, appear very sharp and brilliant in the sky, which the camera rendered blue after 8 seconds of exposure.

Antares is distinctly brighter than the other stars in Scorpius, however, the following clip from a picture I took later showing "the claw of Scorpio" better reveals the relative brightness and colors of Antares and the other stars.  The star and constellation were mythologically and astrologically associated with Mars because of the similar red coloring of Mars and Antares:

Claw of Scorpio

The claw of Scorpio will continue to dominate the Southern sky after sunset in the Northern Hemisphere for several more weeks, before it goes into hiding under the horizon for the winter.

Saturn in Virgo, setting for Fall

I snapped this shot of Saturn from my porch at about 1030 last night.  Saturn will be visible on the Western horizon after sunset for a few more weeks, starting lower and lower on the horizon each night.  The Sun will eventually eclipse it, and it will remain hidden in the area of the Sun until it reappears in the mornings of early November, rising in front of the Sun just before sunrise.

click photo to enlarge

In the photo, Saturn is the brightest star, center-right just above the horizon.  Just beside Saturn is Porrima of Virgo.  Two other stars from Virgo are also visible in the picture, however, the star Spica, Virgo's brightest, had already set behind one of the trees by the time I got my camera ready.

Arcturus, Boötes Constellation Photo

Last night I went out on what I thought would be a clear night.  Perhaps 11pm is too early where I was.  I guess with a lot of humidity and light pollution or something somehow there was only one part of the sky that really looked good.  That was in the area of Arcturus the "Bear Guard", and the constellation Boötes.  Below the following Stellarium representation is the best picture I produced.  I was quite surprised to see more stars in the picture than I could with the naked eye!

click photo to enlarge

Alkaid can be seen to the right in this picture.  Alkaid is the final star of the Big Dipper leading Bootes on its journey through the sky.  Also visible is the constellation Corona Borealis and its brightest star Alphekka, and the triangular head of Serpens.

Twilight Moonrise

Just after sunset yesterday the Full moon rose on the Eastern horizon just as the Sun set in the West.  I snapped a few pictures to continue practicing landscape photography in poor light.  By slowing the shutter speed and keeping the aperture small, pictures at night come out brighter, with more scenery, but detail in bright objects like the moon is lost:

By increasing shutter speed, the scenery becomes dark and without contrast, but well lit objects like the moon gain some definition, as in the following picture:

 Also, by watching the clock, I was able to tell how high the horizon was in the area I took the picture by cross referencing Stellarium.  These pictures were taken at 9:17pm on July 15, and here is what Stellarium shows for that time:

Stellarium shows that the Moon at that time was less than 5 azimuthal degrees.  My Stellarium is set having Ottawa as the vantage point, and since I was a bit South of Ottawa, the moon would have appeared from where I was as slightly higher on the azimuthal axis than what Stellarium shows... However, I was also West of Ottawa, away from the spot of the Moonrise in the East, and therefore that would cause the Moon to be lower on the azimuthal axis than what Stellarium shows.  So I`m pretty sure it balances out, and now I know that if anything is risen 5 degrees or more, I should be able to find it if I get into to open space.

Jupiter in Aries and Cetus - Photos!

Taking the following shot of Jupiter, I was pretty surprised and impressed with my camera when I saw that Aries and most of Cetus had also shown up!  Hamal Sheratan and Mesarthim of Aries can always be picked out on a clear night, but I was surprised to see the Ram's tail as well as Menkar and other stars of Cetus show up in the photo!

Jupiter in Aries - click photo to enlarge

Photo of Mars, Aldebaran, Alnath in Conjunction

With Stellarium, I was able to see last night that around 4am Mars would rise in conjunction with Alnath of Auriga and Aldebaran of Taurus.  I was able to find a vantage point which allowed a decent shot of these objects, in spite of the streetlamp which in the dawn twilight and a long exposure seems bright enough to be the sun itself.  The lamp certainly drowned out some of their brilliance; Mars and Aldebaran were sparkling and colorful as usual, though they appear muted in the photo.  The Pleiades, Capella and even other dimmer stars from Auriga are visible in the picture, which I did not expect.  After initial difficulties, I am fairly impressed with what my camera is picking up!  Now that I have figured out how to take better pictures at night, I will have to search out a vantage point for the eastern horizon with less light pollution!

Alnath, Mars and Aldebaran - click photo to enlarge

Pictures!

Finally last night I managed to get some pictures!  Between waiting for clear skies, finding good vantage points and figuring out how to take good pictures at night with a digital camera, it's been hard going!  I went out at about 3:45am, and took some pictures on different settings.  I have found with a bit of practice in the house when it's dark, that the best way to take pictures of scenery, especially at night, you need to keep the aperture small for good sharpness, and adjust the shutter-speed depending on how dark it is.  The pictures that came out best for me last night I took at about 1-4 seconds shutter speed.  The following two are of the moon, the first reveals how black it is outside, and the second shows just how well my camera can see in the dark when the shutter speed is slowed:

Mars in Taurus and by Auriga

This morning before sunrise at 4:15am, Mars and Taurus will have risen in the Eastern sky.  The Pleiades, forming one of the hooves of Taurus, will be almost directly East and at about the same height as Capella of Auriga.  Aldebaran, the eye of the bull–and one of my favourite stars–will be lined up nicely with Mars and Alnath of Capella, forming another horizontal line in the sky.  Along the ecliptic, Jupiter will be visible in the South-East sky, and the Moon will be setting in the West.

Moon in Virgo with Saturn Conjunction

Wedensday, July 6, South-Western Sky 10:10pm

This week, the Moon will pass by Saturn, Corvus and Virgo as it continues along its 4 week journey around the ecliptic.  After sunset, the bright side of the moon will face the area of the sunset in the Western sky, and viewing will be best just after 10pm. 

Thursday, July 7, South-Western Sky 10:10pm

The closest conjunction will be tomorrow, July 7^th, When the Moon passes through the space between Saturn, Spica of Virgo, and the constellation Corvus. 

Friday, July 8, South-Western Sky 10:10pm

If weather ruins the conjunction on July 7^th, the next night the moon will have moved further along, but it will still be in close conjunction with Spica.  Antares of Scorpius will be at its highest point in the South, off to the left.

Daytime Moonrise

Today at 1055 the Moon will rise at due east.  Sunlight should reflect off the edge of the Moon, which is forming a thin triangle with the Sun and the Earth.  The Earth and the Moon are like specs bound close together, rotating around the Sun which is 400x further away.  Right now the Moon is slightly in front of and beside the part of the Earth facing the Sun in its rotation, so a thin part of the bright side of the Moon is visible to Earth as a crescent.  At 1055, the Earth will have rotated enough so that Ottawa will be facing both the Sun and Moon in space.  Daytime should allow a picture!