Yes. My charts are showing about 9:40 pm last night was their closest point at about 47' apart. At 6:30 this morning they were 48' 59". Yesterday they were 52' 44" at 6:30. So today should have been closest although the difference is very small and the angle between them has changed 43 degrees in that time. On Fri, Sep 25, 2015 at 8:26 AM, Chuck Hards <chuck.hards@gmail.com> wrote:
Nice post, Joel, thanks. Mars and Regulus are slightly further apart than yesterday, but not much. Closest approach must have been during daylight hours from the Western US. A nice conjunction, though. Keep your eye on Mars for the next 8 months. Mars season comes in 2016 and it's going to be moving fast and brightening up quickly as winter wanes. I think I read that it will surpass 18 moa this opposition. Not as big as possible but bigger than some recent ones. I may fire-up Brent's 22" Dob for that one, if we get a night of still air. On Fri, Sep 25, 2015 at 7:39 AM, Joel Stucki <joel.stucki@gmail.com> wrote:
I finally got up early to see this. Mars and Regulus are less than a degree apart and shine like two eyes looking at you, one red one blue. Venus dominates the eastern sky and is brilliantly bright. After a bit Juipter rises also with 3 of its moons trailing to the east. From my position I watched these rise over Mount Timpanogos. Mars is unimpressive through the scope as the atmosphere was not very stable and Mars is about as far from us as it gets. Jupiter is always fun but given the low position I was struggling to make out the cloud bands. Venus on the other hand was the best I have seen it. While there was some shimmer, you could make out the entire sphere with a large crescent brightly illuminated.
Also I was impressed to see Orion so high in the sky and the Pleiades past the Zenith. I had one of the best views of the Orion Nebula I have had from my light polluted back yard. I guess it pays to get up early. Now I just need to invest in a sling shot for my neighbors porch light. _______________________________________________
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