Comments on: Conjunction Images From Dec. 1, '08 http://www.universetoday.com/2008/12/02/conjuction-images-from-dec-1-08/ Space and astronomy news Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:17:24 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: Tavi http://www.universetoday.com/2008/12/02/conjuction-images-from-dec-1-08/comment-page-1/#comment-44585 Tavi Thu, 04 Dec 2008 00:29:18 +0000 http://www.universetoday.com/?p=21745#comment-44585 "Is it my 20/200 vision or can you make out Europa as a distortion in Jupiter's light disk? It looks eliptical to me while Venu[s] is almost perfectly circular." Jamie, yes, I do believe that is Europa there. Zooming in on my original large-format image revealed an additional bright pixel in exactly the location I would expect to see Europe, in that fov. Good catch :) Tavi "Is it my 20/200 vision or can you make out Europa as a distortion in Jupiter's light disk? It looks eliptical to me while Venu[s] is almost perfectly circular."

Jamie, yes, I do believe that is Europa there. Zooming in on my original large-format image revealed an additional bright pixel in exactly the location I would expect to see Europe, in that fov. Good catch :)

Tavi

]]> By: Eric Near Buffalo http://www.universetoday.com/2008/12/02/conjuction-images-from-dec-1-08/comment-page-1/#comment-44449 Eric Near Buffalo Wed, 03 Dec 2008 14:41:06 +0000 http://www.universetoday.com/?p=21745#comment-44449 What an awesome view! To see the moons of Jupiter like that is amazing. What an awesome view!

To see the moons of Jupiter like that is amazing.

]]> By: Jamie Kitchen http://www.universetoday.com/2008/12/02/conjuction-images-from-dec-1-08/comment-page-1/#comment-44436 Jamie Kitchen Wed, 03 Dec 2008 13:34:31 +0000 http://www.universetoday.com/?p=21745#comment-44436 Is it my 20/200 vision or can you make out Europa as a distortion in Jupiter's light disk? It looks eliptical to me while Venu is almost perfectly circular. Is it my 20/200 vision or can you make out Europa as a distortion in Jupiter's light disk? It looks eliptical to me while Venu is almost perfectly circular.

]]> By: Benudhar Sahoo http://www.universetoday.com/2008/12/02/conjuction-images-from-dec-1-08/comment-page-1/#comment-44421 Benudhar Sahoo Wed, 03 Dec 2008 11:43:15 +0000 http://www.universetoday.com/?p=21745#comment-44421 I have seen the conjunction of moon, Venus and Jupiter, when i was out of my office in evening then i look towards the sky. I saw Jupiter and Venus are the just side of the moon. I was seeing it from,Bhubaneswar, Orissa. I am feeling very lucky. I have seen the conjunction of moon, Venus and Jupiter, when i was out of my office in evening then i look towards the sky. I saw Jupiter and Venus are the just side of the moon. I was seeing it from,Bhubaneswar, Orissa. I am feeling very lucky.

]]> By: Pavel Smutny http://www.universetoday.com/2008/12/02/conjuction-images-from-dec-1-08/comment-page-1/#comment-44408 Pavel Smutny Wed, 03 Dec 2008 10:03:40 +0000 http://www.universetoday.com/?p=21745#comment-44408 I live in central Europe-Slovakia and there is usually problem to see such conjunction. Why? There is typically rainy weather, when there is new moon and when there is conjunction with Venus and Jupiter, so it is even worse. But it has scientific reason. There are spring tides and those are even stronger,higher in such time, because gravitational force from Venus and from Jupiter is added to gravitational tidal force of Moon and of Sun. Spring tides, sucked underearth water-stronger evaporation, flooded rivers, cummulation of clouds,..There are also more stronger earthquakes, vulcanoes explosion, stronger hurricanes. For example not far from us is Venetia and that area is again quite often extremly flooded during last time, but also there are more closures of Thames barrier -against spring tidal surges,...similar it is on Java-in Jackarta. Earth axis is oriented direction Orion,...in circa these some thousends years (due to precession motion) and so those tidal effects are strongest in november and especially in december, but also in jun,...It is probable that during last december week there would be stronger earthquakes, floods,tsunami, how it was on 26th, december 2004. I live in central Europe-Slovakia and there is usually problem to see such conjunction. Why? There is typically rainy weather, when there is new moon and when there is conjunction with Venus and Jupiter, so it is even worse. But it has scientific reason. There are spring tides and those are even stronger,higher in such time, because gravitational force from Venus and from Jupiter is added to gravitational tidal force of Moon and of Sun. Spring tides, sucked underearth water-stronger evaporation, flooded rivers, cummulation of clouds,..There are also more stronger earthquakes, vulcanoes explosion, stronger hurricanes. For example not far from us is Venetia and that area is again quite often extremly flooded during last time, but also there are more closures of Thames barrier -against spring tidal surges,…similar it is on Java-in Jackarta. Earth axis is oriented direction Orion,…in circa these some thousends years (due to precession motion) and so those tidal effects are strongest in november and especially in december, but also in jun,…It is probable that during last december week there would be stronger earthquakes, floods,tsunami, how it was on 26th, december 2004.

]]> By: marcellus http://www.universetoday.com/2008/12/02/conjuction-images-from-dec-1-08/comment-page-1/#comment-44384 marcellus Wed, 03 Dec 2008 07:25:41 +0000 http://www.universetoday.com/?p=21745#comment-44384 I've had about two dozen people ask me about the conjunction of Venus and Jupiter within the las week. I got to see the Dec. 1st apparition with the Moon to the upper left of Venus and Jupiter. Extremely lovely. The Moon in Earthshine appears to be tilting towards a favorable libration to show Mare Oriental this month. Will that happen? I've had about two dozen people ask me about the conjunction of Venus and Jupiter within the las week.

I got to see the Dec. 1st apparition with the Moon to the upper left of Venus and Jupiter. Extremely lovely.

The Moon in Earthshine appears to be tilting towards a favorable libration to show Mare Oriental this month. Will that happen?

]]> By: Andrew http://www.universetoday.com/2008/12/02/conjuction-images-from-dec-1-08/comment-page-1/#comment-44348 Andrew Wed, 03 Dec 2008 03:37:40 +0000 http://www.universetoday.com/?p=21745#comment-44348 I was very fortunate in Western Australia to see a stunning "smiley face" staring back at me in the night sky. Sadly i wasnt able to photograph it but friends of mine who rarely look at the heavens sent me messages about so it was nice to see that everyones curiosity about the solar system was peaked at least for one night. I was very fortunate in Western Australia to see a stunning "smiley face" staring back at me in the night sky. Sadly i wasnt able to photograph it but friends of mine who rarely look at the heavens sent me messages about so it was nice to see that everyones curiosity about the solar system was peaked at least for one night.

]]> By: Freiddie http://www.universetoday.com/2008/12/02/conjuction-images-from-dec-1-08/comment-page-1/#comment-44300 Freiddie Tue, 02 Dec 2008 23:21:44 +0000 http://www.universetoday.com/?p=21745#comment-44300 Title: "Conjuction ..." Typo? Title: "Conjuction …" Typo?

]]> By: Todd http://www.universetoday.com/2008/12/02/conjuction-images-from-dec-1-08/comment-page-1/#comment-44299 Todd Tue, 02 Dec 2008 23:19:57 +0000 http://www.universetoday.com/?p=21745#comment-44299 Great image, Tavi. An explorer on Europa would have seen an interesting conjuction about North American midday Monday, a crescent Callisto passing about one degree north of the Earth/Venus conjunction. Great image, Tavi. An explorer on Europa would have seen an interesting conjuction about North American midday Monday, a crescent Callisto passing about one degree north of the Earth/Venus conjunction.

]]> By: Spencer http://www.universetoday.com/2008/12/02/conjuction-images-from-dec-1-08/comment-page-1/#comment-44259 Spencer Tue, 02 Dec 2008 19:46:55 +0000 http://www.universetoday.com/?p=21745#comment-44259 Yes, the digital cameras are great - still its exceptional to catch moons of Jupiter! My first forays are here: http://home.comcast.net/~skhowe/Astro/ I should process my lunar eclipse pictures from last year to compare with the Saturn picture from 2004 Seeing the unlit portion is called "Earthlight" When viewing Earth from the Moon, Earth appears sunlit in the exact proportion that the Moon appears dark from Earth. In other words, from a crescent Moon, Earth appears nearly full, so is bright enough to light the dark portion of the moon. Its always been that way. Yes, the digital cameras are great – still its exceptional to catch moons of Jupiter!

My first forays are here:
http://home.comcast.net/~skhowe/Astro/
I should process my lunar eclipse pictures from last year to compare with the Saturn picture from 2004

Seeing the unlit portion is called "Earthlight" When viewing Earth from the Moon, Earth appears sunlit in the exact proportion that the Moon appears dark from Earth. In other words, from a crescent Moon, Earth appears nearly full, so is bright enough to light the dark portion of the moon. Its always been that way.

]]> By: Hendrik http://www.universetoday.com/2008/12/02/conjuction-images-from-dec-1-08/comment-page-1/#comment-44250 Hendrik Tue, 02 Dec 2008 19:02:25 +0000 http://www.universetoday.com/?p=21745#comment-44250 Was this really a Triple Conjunction? Doesn't a triple conjunction occur during opposition when the planets move backward (retrograde motion) and are close to each other 3 times in a short time? I think it was only a grouping of 3 celestial bodies. Was this really a Triple Conjunction?
Doesn't a triple conjunction occur during opposition when the planets move backward (retrograde motion) and are close to each other 3 times in a short time?
I think it was only a grouping of 3 celestial bodies.

]]> By: Mike Jackson http://www.universetoday.com/2008/12/02/conjuction-images-from-dec-1-08/comment-page-1/#comment-44235 Mike Jackson Tue, 02 Dec 2008 17:27:53 +0000 http://www.universetoday.com/?p=21745#comment-44235 It was very impressive. My sister, who is not at all a skywatcher, called me out of the blue, "Look outside, look at the sky!". We were lucky here in suburban Maryland, for once. Usually it is bad seeing so close to D.C. It was very impressive. My sister, who is not at all a skywatcher, called me out of the blue, "Look outside, look at the sky!".

We were lucky here in suburban Maryland, for once. Usually it is bad seeing so close to D.C.

]]> By: Tammy Plotner http://www.universetoday.com/2008/12/02/conjuction-images-from-dec-1-08/comment-page-1/#comment-44232 Tammy Plotner Tue, 02 Dec 2008 16:57:49 +0000 http://www.universetoday.com/?p=21745#comment-44232 Great images! Here's another: <a href="http://www.universetoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/venus-jupiter-and-moon-from-mro.jpg" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://www.universetoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/venus-jupiter-and-moon-from-mro-580x386.jpg" alt="" title="venus-jupiter-and-moon-from-mro" width="580" height="386" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-21753" /></a> This one is from Joe Brimacombe taken at <a href="http://www.southerngalactic.com" target="blank" rel="nofollow">Macedon Ranges Observatory</a>. It's really wonderful how different observers around the world got to see it slightly differently thanks to the joy of celestial mechanics in action and the different time zones. If you have questions that you didn't get answered, do take a look at the <a href="http://www.universetoday.com/2008/12/01/moon-venus-and-jupiter-dazzle-on-december-1/" target="blank" rel="nofollow">original article</a> where I explained why the Moon appears as it does and why the planets looked to be in different positions for different observers. I am so proud of everyone! Even our own <a href="http://www.astroengine.com/?p=2397" target="blank" rel="nofollow">Ian O'Neill</a> was out imagining this event! Take a look at this: <img src="http://www.astroengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/conjunction_oneill1.jpg" width="500" height="400"> What a great job you all have done!! Great images! Here's another:

This one is from Joe Brimacombe taken at Macedon Ranges Observatory.

It's really wonderful how different observers around the world got to see it slightly differently thanks to the joy of celestial mechanics in action and the different time zones. If you have questions that you didn't get answered, do take a look at the original article where I explained why the Moon appears as it does and why the planets looked to be in different positions for different observers.

I am so proud of everyone! Even our own Ian O'Neill was out imagining this event! Take a look at this:

What a great job you all have done!!

]]> By: Navneeth http://www.universetoday.com/2008/12/02/conjuction-images-from-dec-1-08/comment-page-1/#comment-44228 Navneeth Tue, 02 Dec 2008 16:38:29 +0000 http://www.universetoday.com/?p=21745#comment-44228 Thump, the light you see from the "visible dark" portion of a crescent Moon is called Earthshine. It has virtually nothing do with the pollution levels on Earth. It is sunlight reflected by the Earth onto the Moon and back to the Earth, again. The first to explain this on record was Leonardo da Vinci. Here's the story: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2002/12apr_earthshine.htm _________________________________________________ And I got a good twilight view of the conjunction before the clouds came in for a couple of hours. My photo can been seen by clicking on my name, too. Wonderful photo, Tavi! I can usually see Big J's big satellites if I use the digital zoom in my camera, but the end result is not very good. Thump, the light you see from the "visible dark" portion of a crescent Moon is called Earthshine. It has virtually nothing do with the pollution levels on Earth. It is sunlight reflected by the Earth onto the Moon and back to the Earth, again. The first to explain this on record was Leonardo da Vinci. Here's the story: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2002/12apr_earthshine.htm
_________________________________________________

And I got a good twilight view of the conjunction before the clouds came in for a couple of hours. My photo can been seen by clicking on my name, too.

Wonderful photo, Tavi! I can usually see Big J's big satellites if I use the digital zoom in my camera, but the end result is not very good.

]]> By: Thump http://www.universetoday.com/2008/12/02/conjuction-images-from-dec-1-08/comment-page-1/#comment-44224 Thump Tue, 02 Dec 2008 16:13:56 +0000 http://www.universetoday.com/?p=21745#comment-44224 So, I've been wondering for a while now... When I look up at the moon when it is a crescent, I can see the part that is in shadow just as can be seen in this photo. When I was a kid, years ago, I don't recall seeing the unlit portion (though I wasn't very observant as a child either). So my questions are these: Has the unlit portion of the moon always been visible to observers during the crescent phase or is this an example of modern light pollution from earth onto the moon? Is it the reflection of the sunlit portion of the earth reflected on to the unlit portion of the moon? Did observers of the moon from history notice this lit/unlit phenomenon? Just curious... So, I've been wondering for a while now…

When I look up at the moon when it is a crescent, I can see the part that is in shadow just as can be seen in this photo. When I was a kid, years ago, I don't recall seeing the unlit portion (though I wasn't very observant as a child either). So my questions are these:
Has the unlit portion of the moon always been visible to observers during the crescent phase or is this an example of modern light pollution from earth onto the moon?
Is it the reflection of the sunlit portion of the earth reflected on to the unlit portion of the moon?
Did observers of the moon from history notice this lit/unlit phenomenon?
Just curious…

]]> By: Nancy Atkinson http://www.universetoday.com/2008/12/02/conjuction-images-from-dec-1-08/comment-page-1/#comment-44223 Nancy Atkinson Tue, 02 Dec 2008 16:07:18 +0000 http://www.universetoday.com/?p=21745#comment-44223 Thanks Zurack! Great images! Anyone else? Please feel free to post links to your images of the conjunction. Nancy Thanks Zurack! Great images! Anyone else? Please feel free to post links to your images of the conjunction.
Nancy

]]> By: Zurack http://www.universetoday.com/2008/12/02/conjuction-images-from-dec-1-08/comment-page-1/#comment-44221 Zurack Tue, 02 Dec 2008 16:00:05 +0000 http://www.universetoday.com/?p=21745#comment-44221 I took some photos with my digital camera too! You can click my name to see them. It was a great sky watching night! I saw some meteors, and a thunderstorm in the horizon! You can see the moons of Jupiter and lots of stars in my photos too! :P I took some photos with my digital camera too!
You can click my name to see them.

It was a great sky watching night! I saw some meteors, and a thunderstorm in the horizon!
You can see the moons of Jupiter and lots of stars in my photos too! :P

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