Planets at Dusk and Dawn

[kerrylewis]

Just caught Venus last night with the binoculars before it disappeared behind the houses opposite. The moon was a useful pointer.  Mars and Saturn are still lurking low in the south west. Although they are not well placed it's amazing how long these two have been around.

Up at 6.30 to catch Mercury in the dawn glow. Surprisingly bright through the binoculars. Jupiter is beginning to move away from the sun but still too low at the moment. Will be a good target in the coming months though. 

[Special K]

Well done Kerry!  I think bins is the way to go as they are so low at the moment. You still get the pizzazz of spotting them but no hassle of setup!  Is there a Phase on Mercury or Venus currently? Last year the Venusian Phases coming down from Leo were fantastic with the UHC filter. 

There is a conjunction of Jupiter and Mercury on Oct 11th. 6:30am looks like a good time for that, or earlier to be prepared  

[kerrylewis]

Kevin - I couldn't see any phase on Mercury - too small - but there was a slight phase on Venus. However, I must confess that I was helped by a view through my 100Ed the other day. I was trying out my new Skyfi unit and managed to get Venus in daylight. 

I think the Oct 11th conjunction will be tricky to view, but Jupiter will have moved a bit further from the sun by then. It will need a good view of the eastern horizon which I only have partly as gaps between trees etc. It will be worth a try though (skies permitting) because it would then present one of those occasions when it is possible to see all the planets in one night (with Uranus and Neptune telescopically), which is always fun 

Kerry 

[bish]

I've only ever seen Mercury at dusk. I'm just too lazy for the dawn view. Just catching Mercury in my bins is as satisfying to me as the GRS or detail on Mars through the scope.  Well done for getting up!

[Size9Hex]

Nice one Kerry! I need to pay more attention to the planets. Hadn't realised Mercury or Venus were particularly visible and it only seems like a week or two since I spotted Jupiter disappearing into the sunset!

[A budding astronomer]

Caught Mercury on the 30th of September in the dawn, Could make out a phase and it was my first time observing it.

 

Clear skies!

 

Adam

 

[Walshie79]

Doing an experiment this morning to see if I can see Jupiter through to sunrise (unlike Venus, I've never seen it in daylight though I've heard its possible) as it's very conveniently near the Moon today. Just over 10 minutes to go and its still visible...

[Walshie79]

3 mins to go, still there..

[Walshie79]

Yes, it's possible :-) 2 mins past sunrise (according to Calsky) and its still there. It got much harder to see from 5 minutes before sunrise, but it held on. Would never, ever have been able to do it without the Moon nearby. And the magnitude of Jupiter is apparently only -1.8 at the moment, which isn't much brighter than Sirius.