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.

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! 

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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