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moon

Venus and the “New Year” Crescent Moon

January 2, 2017 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Solar System

venus-moon-new-year-2017
Venus and the crescent Moon on the evening of January 1, 2017, imaged from Bethesda, MD.

The waning of the first day of 2017 sees the slender crescent Moon, rounded out by Earthshine, and the brilliant planet Venus in the western sky after sunset. Venus puts on quite a show this month as it reaches greatest eastern elongation on January 12 and lies some 47° east of the Sun. The planet then grows in brightness to magnitude -4.7 by month’s end. That’s as bright as the planet ever gets, bright enough to cast shadows on a dark night.

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Filed Under: Solar System moon, venus

Strawberry Moon and Summer Solstice Meet

June 20, 2016 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Stargazing

A strawberry Moon rising over Los Angeles in 2012 (credit: Pacheco at Flickr.com)
A strawberry Moon rising over Los Angeles in 2012 (credit: Pacheco at Flickr.com)

Today the Sun reaches the June solstice, its most northerly point on the celestial sphere. This marks the first day of summer in the northern hemisphere and the first day of winter in the southern hemisphere. And for the first time in 68 years, the June solstice occurs on the same day as the June full Moon, often called the Strawberry Moon [Read more…] about Strawberry Moon and Summer Solstice Meet

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Filed Under: Stargazing moon, solstice, sunset

The Moon Occults Aldebaran on January 19-20

January 13, 2016 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Celestial Events

The visibility of the lunar occultation of the bright star Aldebaran on Jan. 19-20, 2016. Credit: Lunar-Occultations.com
The visibility of the lunar occultation of the bright star Aldebaran on Jan. 19-20, 2016. Credit: Lunar-Occultations.com

The waxing gibbous Moon will pass in front of the bright star Aldebaran, the brightest star in the constellation Taurus, during the evening of January 19-20, 2016. The event will be visible for all of Canada and the continental U.S. as well as northwestern Europe (see map above). During this occultation, Aldebaran will dramatically disappear behind the darkened edge of the Moon. Then it will suddenly reappear nearly an hour later from behind the lit edge. Exact timing is highly dependent on location, but the event begins between 2h and 3h Universal Time on Jan. 20. You can look up the more precise timing for your location at the Lunar-Occultations.com website. The event is easily visible without optical aid, but a pair of binoculars or a small telescope give you a better view [Read more…] about The Moon Occults Aldebaran on January 19-20

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Filed Under: Celestial Events moon, occultation

Snapshot and Video of Lunar Occultation of Venus

December 7, 2015 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Solar System

Venus moves towards the limb of the crescent Moon before a lunar occultation of Venus in daytime on December 7, 2015.
Venus moves towards the limb of the crescent Moon before a lunar occultation of Venus in daytime on December 7, 2015.

A quick DSLR image of the Moon about to pass in front of Venus. This snapshot taken on a warm December afternoon from Chevy Chase, MD. Venus was easily visible in the daytime sky. As the Moon moves eastward by about 1/2 degree per hour, Venus will re-emerge about a hour later. You can indeed enjoy astronomy by daylight!

Here’s a crude video of the beginning of the occultation:

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Filed Under: Solar System moon, occultation, venus

Image of a Double Planet from Hayabusa 2

December 3, 2015 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Solar System

A double-planet system: the Earth and Moon as imaged by the Hyabusa 2 craft on November 26, 2015. Credit: JAXA.
A double-planet system: the Earth and Moon as imaged by the Hayabusa 2 craft on November 26, 2015. Credit: JAXA.

An image of the Earth-Moon system from the Japanese Hayabusa 2 probe taken on Nov. 26, 2015. The craft, which is on the way to rendezvous with asteroid Ryugu, passed by Earth on December 3, 2015 on its outbound flight. It will probe the asteroid in late 2018, then return a sample of the asteroid to Earth in 2020.

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Filed Under: Solar System asteroid, earth, moon, planet

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