Since last night the Moon has passed by Venus and risen to side of Jupiter. In doing so it has followed the ecliptic, which is the orbital plane of the solar system and courses through the constellations of the zodiac. The ecliptic follows the plane of the protoplanetary disk from which the whole solar systemContinue reading “Ecliptic Essence”
Tag Archives: Moon
Smiley Moon and Planets
As promised in yesterday’s post, the Moon obligingly appeared at sunset last night. Tonight, it will be up above Jupiter at the top of the image. Wow, what an amazing apparition of our solar siblings! #jupiter #venus #moon #sunset
Dusk Delight
For the next several days Jupiter (upper) will approach Venus (lower) until they appear as close together as the width of a full Moon on the evening of March 1, 2023. Speaking of the Moon, its thin crescent shape will pass by the planets tonight, February 21, 2023, and tomorrow night. So if you wantContinue reading “Dusk Delight”
Glib Gibbous Moon
It hovered in the morning sky, the Man on the Moon seeming to grin down towards Earth just as it was about to set. The Moon was full just two days before but still looks nearly round in its gibbous phase, the phase between full and quarter. Maybe it has a secret that it wouldContinue reading “Glib Gibbous Moon”
Near and Far
The Moon is less than a third of the diameter of Venus, yet it appeares much larger since it was only 224 thousand miles away while Venus was over 142 million miles away at the time of the photo. The Moon is at crescent phase since it is sunward from Earth, while Venus is atContinue reading “Near and Far”
Near Miss
The Moon nearly grazed Mars last night and I took this photo using my telescope and iPhone. In the central and western US the Moon passed in front of Mars, hiding it from view for a time, but in Florida this is as close as they got. Tiny red Mars is below the mountainous areaContinue reading “Near Miss”
Last but not the Last
Artemis is on its way to the Moon, paving the way for the next person to walk again on its surface. In December it will be 50 years since the Gene Cernan became the “last” man on the Moon. In the past it was competition with the USSR that drove the dive into space, butContinue reading “Last but not the Last”
Cold Autumn Moon
An approaching cold front provided begrudging looks at the gibbous Moon this morning. Shortly after this photo was taken, the Moon disappeared as if eaten by a dragon, not the fire-breathing type, but one with a cold heart. #Moon #autumn #dragon #cold front
The Company You Keep
It was fun watching the Moon duck in and out of the clouds in the western sky while the Sun rose in the east recently. The football-shaped Moon was clearly marked with dark lava flows across its brilliant face as it headed towards last quarter. Without the white clouds, however, the auto exposure of theContinue reading “The Company You Keep”
Eclipse Epilogue
How amazing that we live in a time when the Sun and Moon appear to be the same size in the sky. In the past the Moon was much closer to Earth and early blocked the whole of the Sun. In the future the Moon will be much farther away and its passage in frontContinue reading “Eclipse Epilogue”
Eskildoodle Photos and Feelings 