Clouds hitting tonight Mars-Moon spectacle?

hamster

Ah no - the weather gone cloudy since this morning and I was looking forward to seeing the moon right up against Mars tonight.

Any lucky enough to have clear skies right now?

hamster

A fierce gale is blowing and the rain is starting to fall but there was a hole in the clouds awhile back and I got a look and yup, finally got a glimpse of the moon snuggling up closer to Mars. Might get to see it around 2am if the weather permits.

dubtom

I actually looked in here to ask about the particularly bright moon earlier this evening, it seemed to almost have a very bright halo or even what looked like a rainbow around it, as bright as I ever remember seeing it. I assume mars was the bright star visable just below and too the left of the moon at around 7pm.
Sorry,I dont have astro speak

hamster

dubtom wrote: »

I actually looked in here to ask about the particularly bright moon earlier this evening, it seemed to almost have a very bright halo or even what looked like a rainbow around it, as bright as I ever remember seeing it. I assume mars was the bright star visable just below and too the left of the moon at around 7pm.
Sorry,I dont have astro speak

Yes you got it. I couldn't stay out more than 5 mins, the weather was that bad.

Flukey

dubtom wrote: »

I actually looked in here to ask about the particularly bright moon earlier this evening, it seemed to almost have a very bright halo or even what looked like a rainbow around it, as bright as I ever remember seeing it. I assume mars was the bright star visable just below and too the left of the moon at around 7pm.
Sorry,I dont have astro speak

You don't need "astro speak". Astronomy is a simple hobby. All you have to do is look up. Mars is very bright, reddish and almost overhead each night at present, particularly if you go out around midnight. It is unmistakeable. Facing south, it is above the unmistakeable constellation of Orion, which dominates the sky and is itself well worth looking at.

davidoco

I had read that at 9.45 tonight (Christmas Eve) was when Mars was in direct opposition so I went out. It was a little cloudy but the moon started to have an orange glow which was fantastic to look at. This changed depending on the light cloud cover. I took a few photos, I'll post em if they come out ok.

PS I'm in the South East.

Flukey

Sounds great. A word of warning: photos of the moon don't always look as good as it looks in reality. It always looks really small on a photo. You need a good zoom-in lens or to shoot it through a telescope. These are two that I took through a telescope.




Here is a bit of video I took of it:
http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=wYIhzn1F6Zc

dubtom

Flukey wrote: »

You don't need "astro speak". Astronomy is a simple hobby. All you have to do is look up. .

Ha,says you, I bought a huge telescope last year which I haven't even managed to see anything through,including the moon.:eek: Seriously though,astronomy,as a hobby, must be one of the most difficult things to grasp in terms of understanding the 'speak'. I get a mag from astronomy ireland every month which usually gives guidelines of what to look out for,I'd need a masters to understand most of it. I agree,looking up is easy,understanding what you are looking at is another matter.

hamster

dubtom wrote: »

Ha,says you, I bought a huge telescope last year which I haven't even managed to see anything through,including the moon.:eek: Seriously though,astronomy,as a hobby, must be one of the most difficult things to grasp in terms of understanding the 'speak'. I get a mag from astronomy ireland every month which usually gives guidelines of what to look out for,I'd need a masters to understand most of it. I agree,looking up is easy,understanding what you are looking at is another matter.

dubtom, really I haven't never did any prereqs for astro and it's pretty natural to pick up. A lot is visual and a lot repeats night after night with slight changes in the sky and that kicks a real buzz in a lot of people. I'm sure Flukey loves it when he can estimate almost exactly where a star/planet/comet is expected to appear after sundown before it gets dark enough. The other thing is pure variety - so many things to check out. My only personally downer is the irish weather, the cold and my laziness to check these things out. But even then load up Stellarium or Starry Night. lol! No really dubtom, there isn't anything classy about this topic - just having fun and noticing things (the best really!)
A good book is great too - a nice read for me was that soft book that came with Starry Night - forgotten it now - but will check it up.