Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Quick Planet Pics

Yep, lots still going on. Keep looking this week. First, Mercury is still visible but getting more difficult to see. Got it tonight. Had to use binoculars at first but found it naked eye eventually. Got a nice shot of it above a palm tree.

Of course the main event is Venus and Jupiter. I went out a little later tonight and they are drifting farther north so I positioned myself a little differently in my townhome courtyard tonight to get the pic.

Yep, that's an orange tree! The oranges are not ripe yet, still pretty small but I thought they made an interesting foreground for the pic! Keep looking the next few nights. Tonight is technically the closest approach, but March 15th is the date of the actual conjunction (a fancy astronomy term meaning they have the same right ascension. Right ascension is kind of like longitude but in the sky).

Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.
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6 comments:

  1. OKIEMarch 13, 2012 at 8:29 AM

    I went out to look last night and thought it was spectacular. Thanks for posting Hale.

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  2. kkditherMarch 13, 2012 at 3:40 PM

    No orange trees for us here, but the view was still amazing. Our local meteorologist said that Jupiter's moons were visible with binoculars. Not sure, but I may have seen 2... one at 12 o'clock and another at 5 o'clock? I also tried with the telescope, but can't seem to get it stable enough.

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  3. jedwisMarch 13, 2012 at 3:58 PM

    KK...What did you do between the Midnight and 5am viewings? lol. That telescope of yours is only good for window viewings. lol.

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  4. hale-boppMarch 13, 2012 at 4:55 PM

    You need a tripod for the Galilescope. Camera tripods work. You probably did see a couple of Moons as they are roughly above and below Jupiter these days (it varies a bit depending on latitude.)

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  5. OrbsCorbsMarch 13, 2012 at 5:13 PM

    I didn't realize it, but I've been seeing these two guys each night lately when I check my apartment's blinds. My windows face west.

    I have some old, cheap binoculars. I may try them, but I don't expect much with my eyes.

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  6. kkditherMarch 14, 2012 at 8:02 AM

    Jed.. lol, I was looking through the back window. I tried to prop the telescope up against the window, but it is so sensitive, I still couldn't get it still enough.

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