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01/31/2008 05:34:27 PM · #1
For you astrophotography buffs:

MORNING SKY ALERT: Set your alarm for dawn. On Friday morning, February 1st,
Venus and Jupiter converge in the southeastern sky less than 1 degree apart; they
will beam through the rosy glow of dawn like a pair of celestial headlights.
It's a spectacular view worth waking up early to see. The February 1st alignment
kicks off four mornings of beautiful views as the crescent Moon moves in to
join Venus and Jupiter over the weekend. Visit SpaceWeather for sky
maps and photos.

Message edited by author 2008-01-31 17:35:37.
01/31/2008 06:14:25 PM · #2
Thanks for the heads-up... I'll be awake but I doubt the weather will cooperate.
01/31/2008 08:10:23 PM · #3
I don't have a fancy zoom - or any zoom for that matter - so I won't be getting up at the crack to take photos. However, I hope someone does for us to see.
01/31/2008 09:23:30 PM · #4
I'll be up but the weather looks like it might be overcast. If clear I'll try to get a pic.
01/31/2008 09:48:26 PM · #5
If anyone's interested here's some pretty cool (and free) planetarium software I've been using lately: Stellarium
01/31/2008 10:00:44 PM · #6
would it be worth waking up with no zoom?

I have always like taking night photos or long exposures of the stars, but there is no point to wake up if it wont be visible unless you have some kind of zoom lens or telescope.
01/31/2008 10:30:25 PM · #7
Even if you have no plans to photograph it, it's worth seeing. Two such bright objects so close together in the sky is an unusual and memorable sight. Skies will be cloudy here so I'll live vicariously with an entry from my observing log:

February 23, 1999:

The local forecast for Madison WI was very dim all week - even up until the morning forecast which predicted mostly cloudy and snow flurries for the day. I had been anticipating this excellent grouping of Jupiter and Venus for several months - I hoped clouds wouldn't spoil it.
Driving home tonight, the sky was partly cloudy and the sun was shining. I started to get a little optimistic. I had prepared myself for clouds, so _any_ viewing would be a reward.

By 5:00 pm local (23:00 UT) the skies west of Madison were mostly clear, so I started setting up the scope.

I spotted Venus with my binocular by about 5:25 and could just see Jupiter peeking out of the blue. 5:45 (23:45UT) I had both in my low power fov (40mm plossl, f/10 8"SCT). Soon, Jupiter's moons became evident. Callisto and Europa were almost vertically aligned west of the planet, and Io was nearing eclipse, also west. Lone Ganymede was off to the east. Two cloud bands were clearly visible on the planet but the atmosphere was boiling quite a bit and no further detail was possible. By this time, the clouds were almost completely gone and the night looked perfect!

Venus was brilliant with no discernible phase (didn't bother with any filters). I bumped the power up to 135x (15mm) and was still able to get both planets in the same fov easily. What a sight!

I stayed out (local temps about -4C thanks to the clear skies) until nearly 0100UT, just about the time Io passed behind Jupiter. I made a few sketches, but mostly just enjoyed the show, being joined by my daughter and two other local neighborhood kids. They had a few good looks and then played tag.

Quite a memorable night!
01/31/2008 10:37:03 PM · #8
Originally posted by handicapjoe:

would it be worth waking up with no zoom?

I have always like taking night photos or long exposures of the stars, but there is no point to wake up if it wont be visible unless you have some kind of zoom lens or telescope.


No you can see it with the naked eye. So it's definitely worth looking at. My 'no zoom' comment was more dircte towards photography - I doubt it will produce a memorable photo without a zoom lens.
01/31/2008 10:42:19 PM · #9
Originally posted by strangeghost:

Even if you have no plans to photograph it, it's worth seeing. Two such bright objects so close together in the sky is an unusual and memorable sight. Skies will be cloudy here so I'll live vicariously with an entry from my observing log:

February 23, 1999:

The local forecast for Madison WI was very dim all week - even up until the morning forecast which predicted mostly cloudy and snow flurries for the day. I had been anticipating this excellent grouping of Jupiter and Venus for several months - I hoped clouds wouldn't spoil it.
Driving home tonight, the sky was partly cloudy and the sun was shining. I started to get a little optimistic. I had prepared myself for clouds, so _any_ viewing would be a reward.

By 5:00 pm local (23:00 UT) the skies west of Madison were mostly clear, so I started setting up the scope.

I spotted Venus with my binocular by about 5:25 and could just see Jupiter peeking out of the blue. 5:45 (23:45UT) I had both in my low power fov (40mm plossl, f/10 8"SCT). Soon, Jupiter's moons became evident. Callisto and Europa were almost vertically aligned west of the planet, and Io was nearing eclipse, also west. Lone Ganymede was off to the east. Two cloud bands were clearly visible on the planet but the atmosphere was boiling quite a bit and no further detail was possible. By this time, the clouds were almost completely gone and the night looked perfect!

Venus was brilliant with no discernible phase (didn't bother with any filters). I bumped the power up to 135x (15mm) and was still able to get both planets in the same fov easily. What a sight!

I stayed out (local temps about -4C thanks to the clear skies) until nearly 0100UT, just about the time Io passed behind Jupiter. I made a few sketches, but mostly just enjoyed the show, being joined by my daughter and two other local neighborhood kids. They had a few good looks and then played tag.

Quite a memorable night!


John that's a great little story. Hope the skies are clear tomorrow because I'd like to see it if nothing else.
02/01/2008 07:29:39 AM · #10
I got up early and it was a beautiful sight. Had binoculars and my trusty 828. Within a half hour the clouds moved in and obscured viewing but it was a great sight while it lasted.




02/01/2008 04:16:53 PM · #11
Beautiful! Thanks for posting those.
02/01/2008 07:13:15 PM · #12
Originally posted by redjulep:

Beautiful! Thanks for posting those.


Thanks, the next couple days the moon is supposed to get in on the act. Sunday and Monday mornings are said to be the best views.
02/02/2008 08:01:26 AM · #13
Got up early again and took some more pictures. Hope you like.



02/02/2008 09:42:50 AM · #14
I accidentally saw the three sisters.

I just walked out my front door, coffee in hand, and saw the crescent moon first.

I was looking for a neighbor to see if he was awake. No other reason why to be out side in the early morning cold.

Looked to the left a bit, and on the corner of my eye were specks of light coming over the ridge of the mountain near me.

'Pretty cool' I thought to myself, taking a sip of my coffee.

Message edited by author 2008-02-02 09:44:02.
02/02/2008 09:47:43 AM · #15
Glad you guys got some clear weather. We're completely socked in here with overcast. Thanks for the pics John!
02/02/2008 11:06:07 AM · #16
Here's a pretty good one, from APOD.
02/02/2008 11:21:51 AM · #17
Originally posted by strangeghost:

Here's a pretty good one, from APOD.


That is a beauty!
02/02/2008 04:53:16 PM · #18
OK, another topical walk down memory lane. I had completely forgotten about this photo when earlier today it came to mind for some reason, and I went searching. I used to have it on my old web photo pages before I went with pBase. I finally located it in my iPhoto library in a folder of old scans. This was my very first attempt at any kind of astrophotography:



02/02/2008 05:40:27 PM · #19
This picture was taken in 2005 when the crescent Moon teamed up with planets Venus and Jupiter to put on beautiful displays in the early evening sky.
02/03/2008 08:56:22 AM · #20
Up early again and the sky was covered with clouds. But there were breaks that looked hopeful moving toward the moon. So I got my gear together and in my car I drove a few miles to a good spot, hoping the clouds would clear. I got lucky.


02/03/2008 10:07:15 AM · #21
Some post work and artistic license to make the scene more impressive. :)

02/03/2008 03:55:16 PM · #22
Originally posted by jmritz:

Some post work and artistic license to make the scene more impressive. :)


Did you mix up the original and the processed one? I thought the first one was much more dramatic. They're both great though.

I had clear skies this morning and got some pretty nice shots. If the rain holds off, I'm going to try tomorrow morning. The positions will be much better with Venus and Jupiter over the moon.
02/03/2008 05:41:20 PM · #23
Originally posted by oscarthepig:

Originally posted by jmritz:

Some post work and artistic license to make the scene more impressive. :)


Did you mix up the original and the processed one? I thought the first one was much more dramatic. They're both great though.

I had clear skies this morning and got some pretty nice shots. If the rain holds off, I'm going to try tomorrow morning. The positions will be much better with Venus and Jupiter over the moon.


Looking at them again I agree the first is more dramatic, oh well. Tomorrow I won't be able to get a picture because of early work. Hope the weather holds for you. Good luck!
02/03/2008 11:09:59 PM · #24
I got a couple of these pictures taken at Spaceweather.com. Just look for my name, John A Modricker.

//spaceweather.com/
02/03/2008 11:15:32 PM · #25
Far out! Congratulations!!
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