February 6, 2012: Jupiter, Venus, and the Moon

Such divinities have abundantly been pangyrized to us these past, invigorating days. The Moon and the planets have put on quite a spectacular show and I am proud to present their fruits. You may visit our Moon and Planet page for more pictures. "The moon this afternoon [February 6, 2012] is at its prime! It will be full tomorrow, and the results are simply spectacular! Below are pictures of the moon right before 6 pm EST on this date with the planets bringing in the rear of the photoshoot."  Quote from Moon and Planets Page, linked above.

Each of these pictures were taken on February 6, 2012 before 6 pm EST. The moon had just risen before 4:45 pm EST and have passed the treeline. You can see the moon and planets below. [The planet shots were taken before 6:15 pm EST].

Copyright 2012 by Matthew Winter

Venus

Jupiter

Jupiter and Venus lost in the sunset.

What blessings the moon and planets are!

Moon Halos: Heavenly Circlets

Because the full moon is just less than one week away, the moon is in prime condition: ripe for halos to result! What is a lunar halo? A halo, by definition, is an optical phenomena occurring when ice crystals (or cirrus clouds) refract light around an especially bright object, hence making a 'halo' around it. Usually before a full moon, the moon is positioned just in a way to the sun that a halo could be produced, although most common are produced as the result of cirrus clouds in the upper atmosphere.

The ween before the full moon is the best time to spot moon halos (if weather conditions are superb), becasue the moon rises at a reasonable time, meaning, by the time the moon has reached the zenith, it's now 6-9 pm, which means right before the full moon. There is a menagerie of pictures below courtesy of Spaceweather.com. Enjoy the views, and make sure you look for the moon halos!

 

 

The above photograph was taken from Moray, Scotland by amateur astronomer Alan C. Tough. "I intended to photograph the Moon beside the Pleiades, but the cold and cloudy conditions were better suited to capturing this spectacular halo!"

 The above picture was taken by Jim Henderson: at Kincardine O'Neil north of River Dee, Aboyne Aberdeenshire, Scotland. "Frosty evening over Royal Deeside in Scotland and strong moon halo from half moon looking west of south with Orion Belt to left and convenient aeroplane heading northwards probably landing at Aberdeen Airport some 25 miles to East. ..."

"The moon can produce interesting optical effects when conditions are right. The most common of which are moon rings, moon bows, which are similar to rainbows, moon dogs and moon pillars. A rainbow is produced when sunlight is refracted through water droplets - A similar effect is produced when moon light refracts through ice crystals. Below are a few photographs and examples about this interesting phenomena. Thanks to everyone that helped me put together this simple explanation of moon light effects" [from Special Moon Effects. Read more at this link - it's pretty interesting!]

Applause to 433 Eros and its Procession Across the Night Sky on January 31, 2012

Eros made an amazing sweep across the sky the night of January 31 and February 1, as February was ushered in by Eros' beautiful luminescence. Although the asteroid was at its brightest last night doesn't mean that you couldn't see it before (and after!) this date; many amateur astronomers captured a glimpse of this asteroid much before the appointed date of opposition, and it was determinable that Eros traveled across the night sky at about the diameter of a full moon per night. "That means that its change in position is already apparent after a couple of hours," TransitofVenus.com specifies. This is considerably swift, when you compare it to other objects (such as planets)!

But what was the event truly like? We know from the Eros Parallax Project, and their Flickr photo-stream. Below are a few selected images that sum the event in whole. 

Location: Monet North

lat. 30°40'17", long 104°01'22.4"W

on January 30, 2012.  "This picture is exposed six times with a time difference of about 10min. I have calculated my 7:00-Eros-position by combinating this picture with a dss-picture and evaluating it with astronet and ds9," by Udo Backhaus.

Eros on: 2012-01-31 0600-0700 UT Location: 36d 55m 49s N, 76d 31m 43s W; from Stephen F. Gagnon at the
Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility

 

Not only in the locations above was asteroid 433 Eros photographed, but also at the Tycho Brahe Observitoriet (the web page is in Swedish!; translations (quotes) provided by Google Translate) in Sweden, where this asteroid was a prime spectacle. "On the night of January 31 was observed asteroid Eros from the observatory. A series of pictures was taken around midnight with the remote-controlled telescope. The animation below shows the movement for about 1 ½ hours." Although the animation cannot be seen here, you can visit the Tycho Brahe Observitoriet and see for yourself. Eros is the brightest object in the image below.

 

 

"The images are part of a project for the students Albin Wallden and Max Nordin at Finnvedens gymnasium in Värnamo. It was the students themselves with guidance from the observatory Peter Linde took the pictures remotely from home Värnamo. With a standard Web browser, it is possible that the agreement to control the telescope in Tonganoxie," the Observatory writes. Credit of above image belongs to the two astronomers mentioned. 

 

Hopefully Eros filled your perspective of astronomy, as we witnessed this rare passing of an major asteroid. Not many asteroids can fill your expectations like this had!