FWIS3

Just got done listening to a nice interview with Cmdr. Scott Kelly when a thin crescent Moon came into view hanging over the Eastern horizon. Cool, clear, and crisp this morning.

Sunrise, Moon, and Venus on my bike ride in this morning.
I can see Venus below and to the left of the Moon only if I enlarge it.
An airplane trail above and to the right looks like a comet!

Got to ride shotgun to our calibration yesterday morning. We were heading Northeast. So I got to watch dawn while the Old Moon and Venus slowly faded. Tried to convince my co worker that we were really looking at Venus. Beautiful morning.

After losing it for a week, I found the Moon yesterday. I watched it slowing dropping in west as we flew east to Philly. Then I didn't have any good horizon views while we were there downtown. I remarked to Mrs. T Monday that I hadn't seen the Moon "in forever." It was there waiting for me yesterday morning as a sliver rising before the sun in the east. Again this morning a little thinner and lower. Thank goodness, I was getting worried.

Thumper wrote:Tried to convince my co worker that we were really looking at Venus.

Their alternative explanation? Just another bright star? UFO? Landing light? Swamp gas?

I don't remember another alternative explanation being put forth.
I think I posted about this before: We were outside at a big party and big beautiful Venus was hanging low in the western sky after the sun set. I pointed it out to the folks standing next to me. They didn't believe me. I told them that there were plenty of astronomy phone apps that could help them identify many of the night sky objects. They installed one, confirmed it was indeed Venus. Then spent the rest of the night going around with their phone telling everyone, "Hey look! There's Venus. See? My phone tells me so."

Yeah, it's become very common lately when people want to know their constellations to ask me just what app to use. My real issue with them is I've never seen someone use it as more than a crutch to point out Venus as you've said.

I don't know if this just makes me sound old before my time for not liking technology, but yeah.

Thumper wrote:I don't remember another alternative explanation being put forth.
I think I posted about this before: We were outside at a big party and big beautiful Venus was hanging low in the western sky after the sun set. I pointed it out to the folks standing next to me. They didn't believe me. I told them that there were plenty of astronomy phone apps that could help them identify many of the night sky objects. They installed one, confirmed it was indeed Venus. Then spent the rest of the night going around with their phone telling everyone, "Hey look! There's Venus. See? My phone tells me so."

Sad, that they couldn't just believe you.

SciFiFisher wrote:

Thumper wrote:I don't remember another alternative explanation being put forth.
I think I posted about this before: We were outside at a big party and big beautiful Venus was hanging low in the western sky after the sun set. I pointed it out to the folks standing next to me. They didn't believe me. I told them that there were plenty of astronomy phone apps that could help them identify many of the night sky objects. They installed one, confirmed it was indeed Venus. Then spent the rest of the night going around with their phone telling everyone, "Hey look! There's Venus. See? My phone tells me so."

Sad, that they couldn't just believe you.

Yeah, really

Why would you trust a guy like me?

Thumper wrote:Why would you trust a guy like me?

Yeah, why would you trust a guy that used SAS?

Et tu, Brute?

Thumper wrote:Et tu, Brute?

.........and quotes Shakespeare?

Touche!

So we're gonna miss the wild blue, double secret probation, triple dog dare you super moon and eclipse. It won't be visible in Ohio and we won't get to Hawaii in time. However, this morning's moon was pretty awesomely cool. Started my commute to a pretty heavy snow shower. After it subsided, there was a peculiar glowing spot above downtown. As I got closer it was a bright horizontal band. I still couldn't tell if it was something shining through the clouds or a reflection from the downtown lights. after passing the city, the glow was still ahead and a sliver started shining through. As I pulled into my parking lot, the whole giant, slightly egg shaped orb dropped out of the clouds. It looked huge. If I happen to be able to see it again tomorrow morning on the way to the airport, the eclipse will be just starting. It'll set before totality.

Wait, they don't have windows on this airplane of yours? You can totally see it enroute!

So, everyone I know of in astronomy is pretty tired of super moons, because they happen several times a year and you can't really tell a size difference, so what's the big deal. In fact, our media person in the department was kinda begging multiple times for someone to go give an interview about the super blue blood moon, because we're so fatigued by them. But eclipses are cool, so if anyone asks me I plan to talk about those! (We don't really see it here in Toronto unfortunately.)

We'll be too late to catch it. By the time we get to the airport, the moon will have set. And we won't be fast enough to catch it. We hit Dallas at 8:30am or so, Honolulu at 3:30pm.

Rommie wrote:Wait, they don't have windows on this airplane of yours? You can totally see it enroute!

So, everyone I know of in astronomy is pretty tired of super moons, because they happen several times a year and you can't really tell a size difference, so what's the big deal. In fact, our media person in the department was kinda begging multiple times for someone to go give an interview about the super blue blood moon, because we're so fatigued by them.

Ditto.

Especially the blood moon because it has a woo-woo origin story. Despite what everyone is reporting now, it is not because the Moon will turn red during an eclipse. If it were, we would have heard of the term "blood moon" for ages.

This is why.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_moon_prophecy

I never heard of it before a year or two ago.

I woke up last night with the near full moon blasting in through my bedroom window, so I'm thinking I can watch the eclipse without getting out of bed!

It was cloudy on our way to the airport. I did see a faint glow in the sky but no eclipse for us.

pumpkinpi wrote:

Rommie wrote:Wait, they don't have windows on this airplane of yours? You can totally see it enroute!

So, everyone I know of in astronomy is pretty tired of super moons, because they happen several times a year and you can't really tell a size difference, so what's the big deal. In fact, our media person in the department was kinda begging multiple times for someone to go give an interview about the super blue blood moon, because we're so fatigued by them.

Ditto.

Especially the blood moon because it has a woo-woo origin story. Despite what everyone is reporting now, it is not because the Moon will turn red during an eclipse. If it were, we would have heard of the term "blood moon" for ages.

This is why.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_moon_prophecy

I never heard of it before a year or two ago.

Sorta. The thing was called "super blue blood moon," and the only part that designates the eclipsed moon is the "blood" part, but that eclipse was not part of a blood moon tetrad in the sense of that link. "Blood" has gained traction with a different sense, just because the eclipsed moon does seem reddish in some views. Similarly, the "blue" part is a re-sensed version also--up until forty years ago, "blue moon" did not mean "second full moon in a calendar month," but now it does. The "super" just means it was near perigee, and therefore appears larger than most other full moons.

I thought this image at a talk I went to last weekend summarized it perfectly myself.

Almost missed it this morning. But as I walked by the East windows after I got in my building I saw a big thin toe nail of an old Moon hanging low in the East. Also, clouds broke just enough to spy Jupiter high in the south this morning.

Wow, finally a clear evening followed by a clear morning. Beautiful Moon above a majorly bright Venus last night in the West. This morning a bright Jupiter in the South. Almost forgot they were up there.