Moon, Venus and the 'stellar' weather station
4 comentarios Imprimir Enviar a un amigoEl Cielo Esta Noche 07 sep, 2007
In the predawn sky on Saturday morning, the waning crescent moon and the dazzling planet Venus congregate together in front of the constellation Cancer the Crab. But don’t expect to see any of Cancer’s stars unless you get up before dawn. Cancer is the faintest of all the constellations of the zodiac.
Despite its lackluster stars, Cancer showcases one of the sky’s most magnificent star clusters – though you’ll need a clear, dark sky to see it. Called the Beehive, you can find this gravitationally bound cluster of stars to the moon’s upper right before morning twilight tomorrow. If it’s super clear, you might even see this cluster as a small smudge of light with the unaided eye. Binoculars transform this faint fuzzy into a glittering array of stars!
In ancient times, this star cluster was referred to as the “little mist” or “little cloud” and was used to forecast the weather. If the Beehive is invisible in an otherwise clear sky, the ancients took this as a sign of impending stormy weather. They figured it was increasing atmospheric moisture that was obscuring the “little cloud” – or what we moderns now call the Beehive cluster.
At dawn, here on Kodiak Island, Alaska, I saw a very large bright cresent about halfway between the moon and the horizon in the east. The crescent was the same phase as the moon. It was very clear even just before the sun came up. What was it?
Hi Cecil.
More than likely, you were looking at the planet Venus, the third brightest celestial body after the sun and moon. Did you actually see the crescent Venus with the unaided eye? If so, I’m most impressed! From what I understand, it’s possible to see the thin Venusian crescent with the eyes alone, but you need exceptional eyesight.
If you get a chance, try looking at Venus’ crescent with binoculars or a telescope. On the morning of Wednesday, Sept. 5, the lunar crescent was wider than the Venusian crescent. This US Naval Observatory page gives you the phases for the moon and Venus.
Best wishes,
Bruce
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