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! 

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.

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:

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! 

Moon, Mars and Pleiades in Proximity

Just after 3:30am tonight Mars will rise behind the Moon and the Pleiades.  If I can wake up for this I'll be out to have a look!  Jupiter will also be hanging around in the Eastern sky!

Jupiter and Moon in proximity, Mars and Taurus rising tonight

Tonight I’m hoping the weather will clear so I can watch the East-Northeast sky.  Just before 4am, before the morning twilight, Mars will be on the horizon in Taurus under the Pleiades; while Jupiter, the Moon and Hamal of Aries form a line in the eastern sky.  Capella, the 11^th brightest star, is risen alongside in the Northeast, as its constellation Auriga fully crests the horizon.  These bodies will hang shimmering in the sky as the other stars fade in dawn’s light. 

Just before sunrise, at about 5am, it might be possible to see Venus rise ahead of the Sun, before they are all drowned out by daylight. Hopefully the clouds and my neighbour's house will not block the view!


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