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Dawn Planets Line up

kerrylewis

By kerrylewis
in Observing - Planetary

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kerrylewis

kerrylewis

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Beautiful line up of planets in the dawn sky this morning. Venus like a beacon and Mercury below and further east (with Regulus half way between) and then below Mercury, Mars just edging into view. I don't have a clear eastern horizon from the garden so seeing this line up entailed some extreme astronomy - i.e. me balanced on a step ladder with my binoculars. If you have a better view it's worth getting up for - Mars and Mercury will be at their closest on Sunday morning (Sept 17th) in the UK.

I had been up since 3.00 with Tak with some lovely sights but the dawn topped it. As I reluctantly went back to bed,  I stood for a moment and arranged across the deep blue sky were Orion striding westward with Sirius just peeking above the garden fence and to the east the moon bright (but almost outshone by Venus!) at the head of the planetary chain. Gorgeous 

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Special K

Special K

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Nice one, Kerry!  That's a good start time and the dawn lineup is tantalizing.  The crescent moon with earthshine Is a nice bonus and helps create the impression we are riding on a globe in space looking out toward our nearest neighbors in orbit of the sun.

I got clouded out Friday morning just as Venus had risen above the trees, but had a good session on some other objects including Orion and Sirius.

Clouds here this morning but surely we'll get a crisp Sept morning to try for these. I have to go to the edge of the estate but there is a free eastern horizon across the fields there. 

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Piero

Piero

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Great report! It seems like a wonderful view. :)

Observing at East from here requires a fire brigade ladder because of the tall trees. On the other hand they do a great job against light and dew. 

 

Slightly off topic question.

Assuming one knows the position, is Venus visible through a telescope in daytime? If so, how does it look like?

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kerrylewis

kerrylewis

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18 minutes ago, Piero said:

Great report! It seems like a wonderful view. :)

Observing at East from here requires a fire brigade ladder because of the tall trees. On the other hand they do a great job against light and dew. 

 

Slightly off topic question.

Assuming one knows the position, is Venus visible through a telescope in daytime? If so, how does it look like?

It's strange but many people (me included) seem to have problems with the eastern horizon. Got up this morning but the promised clear hours didn't materialise.

Yes Piero, Venus is the easiest planet to see in daylight although I confess I always use goto to locate it. Depending on it's position in relation to earth you can easily see the phase but not much else. In some ways it's easier in daylight because it is otherwise so bright against a dark sky. Mercury and Jupiter can also be seen quite easily. The other planets are less bright but viable under the right conditions. A neodymium filter helps sometimes I find.    

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Charic

Charic

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On 17/09/2017 at 11:26, kerrylewis said:

It's strange but many people (me included) seem to have problems with the eastern horizon.

Just the east? I have problems with the East, South, west and Northern horizon!
It's not all doom & gloom, I have my Zenith, Milky Way, Polaris, Ursa Major and Cassiopeia. 

The 'Trees' landscape in Stellarium gives a pretty close rendition of my back yard!

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goodricke1

goodricke1

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On 17/09/2017 at 11:00, Piero said:

Assuming one knows the position, is Venus visible through a telescope in daytime? If so, how does it look like?

Very much so, it's visible through binoculars in broad daylight. Some have claimed to see it naked eye, although I didn't succeed earlier this year when using the nearby moon as a signpost.

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kerrylewis

kerrylewis

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First clear morning since my last look so I gave the planet show another go.

Venus as bright as ever. It is now closer to Regulus. It's amazing to think that light reflecting of a body so far away could be so bright. 

With  more of my extreme stepladder astronomy with the Canon binoculars I eventually  found Mercury and then  Mars. These are much further apart now with Mars above Mercury as the inner planet drops back towards the sun. Sky Safari showed the moon as further down still so I decided to give that a go too. After much shifting around of my wobbly perch there it was! Almost impossibly slender and dodging through the trees. I can't remember the last time I saw such a thin moon. After checking I found that it was exactly 24 hours from new. 

Another lovely dawn morning chasing planets as the stars faded 

 

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Special K

Special K

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1 hour ago, andrew63 said:

Lovely view this morning, in the crisp early dawn light. 

andrew

Yes, I agree!  I went out at 5 with bins. The Moon was a beacon!!  Mars was easily naked eye north east of Venus. I can't make out the phase of Venus in the bins but Mars is a lovely red. Splendid!

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andrew63

andrew63

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Nice shot Peter.  OK this is my poor phone 'effort' with Venus low down - you can just see Mars ! Looked nice through the telescope. And yes Kevin the moon was like a silver mirror setting in the west.  Lovely autumn morning.

 

andrew

 

 

 

mars,venus.jpg

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Stu

Stu

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4 minutes ago, Special K said:

Nice shot @PeterCPC!  I remember now wondering what star that was just above Mars.  It looks like it was sigma Leonis, not that it matters one little bit!

Yes indeed, Sigma Leonis it was. Nice pic :) 

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sloz1664

sloz1664

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Great thread. I caught Mercury (for the first time) and Venus this morning in Ibiza.

Mercury can been seen low on the left just above the tip of the Island Venus in the center of the picture about 1/3rd from the top.

Steve

Sunrise.png

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