Lunar occultation of Antares 08 January '24

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Clear, but turbulent skies this A.M.

Disappearance at the lower edge of the sunlit side:





Re-emergence:





While occluded, a snap of Venus and Mercury in the wider scene:






K-5iis & DA 55-300




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Astro minimalism - I like it !! Makes a pleasant change from huge gas clouds and skies full of millions of stars (nothing wrong with them, but I do like variety). Had to look hard to find Antares in the first one, then convince myself it wasn't just dust on the tablet's screen .

Please don't tell me it was just luck, you were walking outside to put some trash in the trash can (am I speaking the right language here??), just happened to notice Antares disappearing behind the moon, rushed inside to grab the camera and the first was a quick point 'n shoot grab shot...

Steve

Thank you.

I was aware of the event beforehand, and a western U.S. location made it worthwhile, not to mention a cloud-free sky.

I observed it through mounted binoculars (too much turbulence for a high-powered telescope) with the mounted camera close enough to trip the shutter without looking away.


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Lucky you! A very nice capture.

The closest I've managed to get to something like is was years ago of a daytime Lunar occultation of Venus. I was using my first digital camera a 6mp Panasonic Lumix (very) compact camera. The image I got was not that good but the thing I noticed most was how much brighter Venus' surface brightness was compared to the Moon's. This was from the SW of England.

Cheers
Mike

Thank you!

Venus is the third brightest object in the sky after Sun and Moon, and its tiny relative size makes it appear most dazzling, while the Moon's reflectance is spread over a far larger area, diminishing its impact.


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