[NatureNS] Some Early Morning Observing

Date: Sun, 11 Oct 2009 08:32:47 -0300
From: Sherman Williams <sherm@glinx.com>
To: NAtureNS <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>
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Just came in (6 a.m. to 7a.m.) from observing 5 planets and 2 moons =20
in the dawn sky.  Oh, yes, there were a few nice suns as well =20
(Betelgeuse, Aldebaran, Procyon, Pollux, Castor, etc.).  Wiind-driven =20=

waves crashing against the Bluff (just past high tide). BEAUTIFUL =20
clear, brisk morning!

The telescope view along Quarter Moon's terminator crater line and =20
mountaiin peeks was magnificent!     Castor, Pollux, MARS and Procyon =20=

made a nice eye-catching line lower left of the Moon    ....but, the =20
prize was the line of planets arching up from the eastern EARTH-=20
horizon in the orange-red glow of the dawn, just above the Hants =20
County hills.   MERCURY, SATURN and VENUS all easily seen.  I even =20
learned the name of a new star, Zavijava, (zaw-vee-ja-vah) a 3.5 mag =20
star in Virgo that made a nice triangle in the binocular view with =20
Venus and Saturn.

  In the 10 inch (telescope) I could just make out the suggestion of =20
Saturn's narrow ring line (they are still pretty close to edge-on), =20
celestially angled in an east-west direction. Titon was easily seen =20
to the west of Saturn (Saturn's brightest moon).   Venus and Mercury =20
in the scope were intense orbs of light.  You could tell that they =20
were not circular (Mercury more uncicular than Venus) the =20
unsteadiness of the low atmosphere and their brightnesses made their =20
images roil, making it pointless to attempt resolving their actual =20
shapes. I'll check that on Starry Night (they should be gibbous-=20
shaped).  Through my  10X50s, I could not quite get the light from =20
all 3 planets  funnelling into my eyes at once.  I had to jig =20
slightly up, then down to come close to the effect, so Mercury to =20
Venus must have been close to 6 degrees. My binoc field is right =20
around 5 degrees.

I looked at Mars in the scope too.  It is gibbous-shaped and,  =20
yes, ......much, MUCH smaller than our Moon just west of it.  Took =20
some photos I'll share later if they look OK.

Tomorrow morning if clear will be special too:  Moon, Mars, Pollux =20
and Castor make a nice line in the 6 a.m. sky, and at the same time, =20
Mercury, Saturn and Venus will still be nicely lined up, shining =20
brightly above EARTH's low eastern horizon.

A great early morning observing session,
Enjoy your Thanksgiving everyone.

    Sherman


On 10/10/2009, at 8:25 PM, Pat d'Entremont wrote:

> If it holds out, I and a couple of buddies are thinking of heading =20
> out to SCO on Sunday night. Right now it looks like it=92ll be mostly =20=

> clear, but the moon is rising around 12:30. I=92d be interested if =20
> anyone else is thinking likewise.
>
>
>
> Pat
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> hfxrasc mailing list
> hfxrasc@lists.rasc.ca
> http://www.rasc.ca/mailman/listinfo/hfxrasc


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<html><body style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; =
-webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">
 Just came in (6 a.m. to 7a.m.) from observing 5 planets and 2 moons in =
the dawn sky. &nbsp;Oh, yes, there were a few nice suns as well =
(Betelgeuse, Aldebaran, Procyon, Pollux, Castor, etc.). =
&nbsp;Wiind-driven waves crashing against the Bluff (just past high =
tide). BEAUTIFUL clear, brisk morning!<div><br></div><div>The telescope =
view along Quarter Moon's terminator crater line and mountaiin peeks was =
magnificent! &nbsp; &nbsp; Castor, Pollux, MARS and Procyon made a nice =
eye-catching line lower left of the Moon &nbsp; &nbsp;....but, the prize =
was the line of planets arching up from the eastern EARTH-horizon in the =
orange-red glow of the dawn, just above the Hants County hills. &nbsp; =
MERCURY, SATURN and VENUS all easily seen. &nbsp;I even learned the name =
of a new star, Zavijava, (zaw-vee-ja-vah) a 3.5 mag star in Virgo that =
made a nice triangle in the binocular view with Venus and Saturn. &nbsp; =
&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp;In the 10 inch (telescope) I could =
just make out the suggestion of Saturn's narrow ring line (they are =
still pretty close to edge-on), celestially angled in an east-west =
direction. Titon was easily seen to the west of Saturn (Saturn's =
brightest moon). &nbsp; Venus and Mercury in the scope were intense orbs =
of light. &nbsp;You could tell that they were not circular (Mercury more =
uncicular than Venus) the unsteadiness of the low atmosphere and their =
brightnesses made their images roil, making it pointless to attempt =
resolving their actual shapes. I'll check that on Starry Night (they =
should be gibbous-shaped). &nbsp;Through my &nbsp;10X50s,&nbsp;I could =
not quite get the light from all 3 planets &nbsp;funnelling into my eyes =
at once. &nbsp;I had to jig slightly up, then down to come close to the =
effect, so Mercury to Venus must have been close to 6 degrees. My binoc =
field is right around 5 degrees.</div><div><br></div><div>I looked at =
Mars in the scope too. &nbsp;It is gibbous-shaped and, &nbsp;yes, =
......much, MUCH smaller than our Moon just west of it. &nbsp;Took some =
photos I'll share later if they look =
OK.</div><div><br></div><div>Tomorrow morning if clear will be special =
too: &nbsp;Moon, Mars, Pollux and Castor make a nice line in the 6 a.m. =
sky, and at the same time, Mercury, Saturn and Venus will still be =
nicely lined up, shining brightly above EARTH's low eastern =
horizon.</div><div><br></div><div>A great early morning observing =
session,</div><div>Enjoy your Thanksgiving =
everyone.</div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp;&nbsp; =
Sherman</div><div><br></div><div><br><div><div>On 10/10/2009, at 8:25 =
PM, Pat d'Entremont wrote:</div><br =
class=3D"Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type=3D"cite"> <div =
class=3D"Section1"><p class=3D"MsoNormal">If it holds out, I and a =
couple of buddies are thinking of heading out to SCO on Sunday night. =
Right now it looks like it=92ll be mostly clear, but the moon is rising =
around 12:30. I=92d be interested if anyone else is thinking =
likewise.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=3D"MsoNormal"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p><p =
class=3D"MsoNormal">Pat<span =
style=3D"font-size:14.0pt;font-family:&quot;Georgia&quot;,&quot;serif&quot=
;; color:#003A74"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span =
style=3D"font-size:10.0pt;color:#365F91">&nbsp;<o:p></o:p></span></p><p =
class=3D"MsoNormal"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p> </div><div style=3D"margin-top: =
0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; =
">_______________________________________________</div><div =
style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; =
margin-left: 0px; ">hfxrasc mailing list</div><div style=3D"margin-top: =
0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><a =
href=3D"mailto:hfxrasc@lists.rasc.ca">hfxrasc@lists.rasc.ca</a></div><div =
style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; =
margin-left: 0px; "><a =
href=3D"http://www.rasc.ca/mailman/listinfo/hfxrasc">http://www.rasc.ca/ma=
ilman/listinfo/hfxrasc</a></div> =
</blockquote></div><br></div></body></html>=

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