Monday, December 29, 2008

Another Chance at the Threesome...


Not THAT kind of threesome Orbs. I am talking about the Moon, Venus and Jupiter. They are not nearly as close now. Jupiter is much lower in the sky and you probably need to get out fairly quickly after Sunset to catch it. I did that tonight. Jupiter is below and slightly to the right of the Moon, barely above the building. Venus and the Moon should be obvious.

The Moon is going to be closer to Venus tomorrow night and closest on December 31st (the forecast for Racine is not good for tomorrow night but potentially good for the 31st.) You can really see the movement of the planets relative to each other compared to the conjunction in early December.

I took these pictures a few minutes ago. I turned around and looked east and saw Orion rising above the Rincon mountains and couldn't resist trying my hand at that shot.

You can see some prickly pear cactus in the foreground and the familiar outline of Orion, including his sword. You can see some coloration on the left mountain peak...that is snow if you can believe that. Actually, you dont' have to believe me...you can see. Here is a picture of
the mountain taken a couple of days ago.
Not quite the same zoom settings, but you can see the cactus and the mountain.

8 comments:

hale-bopp said...

Damn! I see that Mercury has joined the party! I didn't get it in the picture, but I did notice it next slightly below Jupiter. Maybe tomorrow night.

drewzepmeister said...

Excellent pictures,Hale! You also have nice scenery in Arizonia.

kkdither said...

The sky has been amazing here with the cold, clear weather. I have been enjoying Orion, very striking in the lower Eastern sky. Tonight the moon was beautiful. Wish I would have realized the planets were right there too. I need a personal guide....

MinnesotaChick said...

Awesome pictures! I want to live there!

OrbsCorbs said...

Hale, I'm not the only one here with a dirty mind. Wait till you meet the crew someday. :D

I love that shot to the east with stars and mountains, and cacti in the foreground. Beautiful.

hale-bopp said...

Comment cheefully withdrawan, Orbs. The award now goes to Mark...LMAO!

kkdither said...

Oh Mark, lol, that has forever altered my thoughts now when I look to the heavens...

MinnesotaChick said...

oh wow.... I saw it tonight.... so clear and bright!