My Mistake Mars not Mercury while hunnting the Crscent Moon

netwolf · #1 26-09-2006, 10:42 PM

Edit:
Sorry guys should have cheked with software before i posted, but seems i saw Mars not Mercury on Saturday night, and on Sunday night I actually photorgraphed Mercury and did not even know it. Doh!

End Edit:

Well I was out on Satruday night and Sunday night trying to catch a glimse of the the new moon. On Saturday noted an object just after sunset that was quiet bright on the horizon and it was to small to be the moon. So i though lets take a peak, got out by 10x50 binos and hmm looked kind of strange like a small miniture crescent. I thought to mysefl what the heck is that. And only one thing came to mind must be Mercury. I later checked with Starrynight and confirmed that it was. I just wanted to double check with you lot, becasue i did not think i should be able to make out a cresecent with Mercury using 10x50's. Well it was not exactly a cresencnt it was like a round object with bright area and a dark spot on one side, like a crescent i suppose. I never did catch the moon on Saturday to my great disapointment, but then i saw it on Sunday night. This particular new moon marks the begining of the month of fasting for mulsims, and the next one will mark the end so its a significant event for me to see it. I was sure with all my planing that i would see it on Satruday but nothing. Out of curioisity did anyone else spot it on Saturday. I know the conjunction was some time friday night over the International date line, hence it could not be seen on Friday but i was sure i should be able to see it on Saturday.

I did some digging and came accros an intresting site on the net about an ocasional event where the crescent moon appears as a string of pearls. And according to this site apparently this should have been what we saw on Saturday. Has anyone ever seen this.
http://www.geocities.com/saberscorpx/beads.html
Another site is for a tool mooncalculator to work out visability of the crsecent moon.
http://www.starlight.demon.co.uk/mooncalc/

I am learning lots about the moon and apreciating its awesome nature. It graces the sky and looms so large that we often take its nature for granted. But its gracefull movement holds much to be marveled at.

And Mercury was a bonus, wow. Thats Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and now Mercury of my list. Simply awesome. Did anyone else see it, was it infact Mercury that i saw can anyone confirm? And now i hear there is a transit coming up this shall be intresting, may need a solar filter. I think my mates have some bader film left over. Oh so many things to see.

Regards

bojan · #2 27-09-2006, 09:09 AM

Netwolf, Mercury is not a crescent at this stage (the picture was generated with CdC, for Sept. 25th, 19:00)
Also, it is at the far side of its orbit, so I do not think you can see the disk with 10x50 binoculars (currently it is 5" in diameter). What you saw was most likely due to a not-so-good optics. Check with some bright star....

Bojan

[1ponders] (Paul) · #3 27-09-2006, 11:20 AM

We went looking for it on Saturday afternoon/early evening Fahim, but like you only saw Mercury

Sunday though was a good view at 3% illumination.

netwolf · #4 27-09-2006, 07:37 PM

Thanks Guys, the binos are Meade 10x50's they have served me well.
It was very low and hard to spot in the Suns red glare post sunset. It sank in down and set very much like a planet after the sun. In the same areas were the sun set.

But Paul your post in the Photos section has got be stumped this cant be Mercury it set to quickly after Sunset to be Mercury maybe it was Mars that I saw. And I got Mercury in the photos on Sunday.

Doh!

Regards

[1ponders] (Paul) · #5 27-09-2006, 08:01 PM

If you haven't already check out the closeup

Mercury and the Moon

netwolf · #6 27-09-2006, 08:02 PM

Paul thanks mate thats a great shot better than mine, but now i am not sure what the heck i saw on Saturday night. The only fast setting objec is Mars could it have been mars?

[1ponders] (Paul) · #7 27-09-2006, 08:06 PM

I'm sorry I've probably confused you with the image. I should have said it was taken on Sunday afternoon the same time as you shots in your other post.

It probably was Mercury you saw. The group of us up at the Cambroon weekend were watching Mercury go down just after sunset and there was no moon visible at that time. It was pretty bright considering the bright sky.

netwolf · #8 27-09-2006, 08:12 PM

Paul this thread is about my Saturday observation of what i thought was Mercury but i think now it was mars, as it set very soon after the Sun. You have not confused me but made things clearer. The title of the thread needs changing i guess.

Regards

[1ponders] (Paul) · #9 27-09-2006, 08:34 PM

Here's a screen dump from Starry Night for Saturday at sunset

[1ponders] (Paul) · #10 28-09-2006, 08:04 PM

I had a good look this afternoon from immediately after sunset until Mars should have been down and no sign of it. It wasn't until later than that, that I saw Mercury up next to Spica and Mercury is much brighter than Mars atm, so I'm putting the money on Mercury for last Saturday.

netwolf · #11 28-09-2006, 10:52 PM

But Paul, Mercury sets long after the Sun, and this set very quickly after the sun while the sky was still blue.

Regards

[1ponders] (Paul) · #12 28-09-2006, 11:09 PM

This might help ID it either way. It's from Astronomy 2006 for Saturday evening.

netwolf · #13 28-09-2006, 11:23 PM

From that Id say Mars, but my doubt is in that i could make out a spherical object with a bright limb. I thought for some time it might be a commet, but that was not probable. The bright limb i thought must appear that way.