Like a big pizza pie!
Posted by admin | Filed under Lunar, Messier Catalog, Weather, Z8
Tonight was my first chance to check out the moon. It’s currently in the Waxing Crescent phase (20% full) so there is just a very small fingernail to observe. It’s beautiful though. Since so little of the moon is illuminated right now it’s not blinding and there is no need for the moon filter. I can’t believe the detail and clarity. It feels like you are orbiting the moon! I tried to get a halfway decent shot with our el-cheapo digital camera. I had to run and get the girls and give them a view before they went to sleep. Lots of “Cools” and “Oh wows” all around. Can’t wait for a fuller moon to try out the moon filter that Telescopes.com sent along with the scope.
I observed the Beehive Cluster for the first time tonight. A beautiful open cluster located right in the middle of the constellation of Cancer (The Crab). First observed by Galileo, the Beehive Cluster is identified in the Messier Catalog as M44. It looked like a bunch of shiny gems. This is the first open cluster I have seen and I will definitely be looking for more.
Atlas Image [or Atlas Image mosaic] courtesy of 2MASS/UMass/IPAC-Caltech/NASA/NSF
It started to get a little chilly and dewy so I called it a night.
As a beginning backyarder I am becoming a little more skeptical of the weather forecasts. All the forecasts I saw today, including the astronomer’s Clear Sky Chart called for clouds all night and I just spend 3 hours under clear skies. There is always hope!
May 18th, 2010 at 12:55 pm
Great moon shot!