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| Spotted again in the early hours in the East | Earthshine - through the clouds ... | Mars came out of its tree - Pleiades kept to theirs |
Lunation 1045 - 15th June - 13th July 2007
Space Weather News for July 9, 2007 |
NASA NEWS RELEASE: 2007-076 July 9, 2007
NASA Readies Mars Lander for August Launch to Icy Site
Instead of roving to hills or craters,
NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander will claw down into the icy soil of the Red Planet's northern
plains. The robot will investigate whether frozen water near the Martian surface might
periodically melt enough to sustain a livable environment for microbes. To accomplish that
and other key goals, More on: http://www.nasa.gov/phoenix . |
9th July - 23 day moon - and Mars ...
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| Spotted again in the early hours in the East | Earthshine - through the clouds ... | Mars came out of its tree - Pleiades kept to theirs |
8th July - 22 day moon - and some stars ...
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| 22 day moon - Mars and Pleiades not too far away | Some glorious stars - Perseus brilliant in the NE and here is the top of the square of Pegasus around 01:30 BST |
... and it's silly snapshot time- roll on the darker skies (clear ones!)
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| Moon in trees again, rising after midnight | Double glazed moon!! |
5th July - 19 day moon
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| 02:30 BST (huh!) Short spell of clearer sky and higher
Moon! Welcome sight!! Libration pushing western edges into view. Theophilus trio on the terminator, which clipped the Sea of Serenity |
Thin cloud at first | More quickly on the way |
If you can see the sky this weekend then:
| Space Weather News for June 29, 2007 http://spaceweather.com "VENUS & SATURN: Saturn and Venus are converging in the sunset sky for a beautiful close encounter this weekend. At closest approach on Saturday, June 30th, the two planets will be a mere 2/3rds of a degree apart. It's a pretty sight for the unaided eye, and a great target for backyard telescopes. Even small 'scopes will reveal the rings of Saturn and the crescent shape of Venus. Check http://spaceweather.com for sky maps and more information." |
Full Moon on the 30th - watch for the Moon Illusion ;-)
Moon Illusion - from NASA Science news "This weekend's full moon hangs lower in the sky than any other full moon of 2007, so the Moon Illusion is going to be strong. What makes the moon so low? Consider the following: The sun and full moon lie on opposite sides of the sky. They are like a see-saw: when one is high, the other is low. Because the summer solstice was just last week (June 21st), the sun is near its highest point in northern skies. The full moon is correspondingly low." ... |
clouds ... rain ... pale skies ... low, low moons ...
20th June - 5 day moon over Backyard!!
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| Early evening moon in clear blue sky Clouds came as the sun dipped lower!! |
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| Pale and grainy but the libration showed the Mare Humboldtianum | And the white swirls on the edge of Mare Marginis | The battered area between the seas of Tranquillity and Nectar showed faintly (TAL-1 with Ricoh) |
16th June - 5 day moon over North Sea
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| 16th June - One day moon over North Sea |
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| Venus was there too ... |