…and so does Mars!
| Image date: 2022-11-14 |
It was the first clear night for a while, so I spent the evening imaging some favourite objects.
Towards midnight, I looked up and nearly had a heart attack. There was Orion and Taurus. Good to see them back again. Betelgeuse was looking bright, Aldeberan too but…….
……..eeeeeeek!! 😶
What’s that bright object lower down (between the roof and the tv antenna), where no bright star is supposed to be? It’s new and it’s bright. Have I discovered a supernova?
Then, reality kicked in: Mars is back!
Magnitude -1.5 (that’s bright), 16.5 arc-seconds diameter (it will reach 17.2″ next month when it reaches opposition).
Well, regardless, it gave me a jolt. I decided to take a picture. The Orion constellation is to the right, with its belt and sword, Rigel top left and Betelgeuse lower right.
The inverted “V” of Taurus is to its left, with Aldeberan and the Hyades wide star cluster.
To the far left are the Pleiades, a more condensed cluster, which may possibly feature in my next post – and Mars is down the bottom.
| ◽ Images © Roger Powell |
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ABOVE US ONLY SKY : amateur astronomy in australia
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Everything is in the wrong place . . . until I stood on my head (no mean feat, I tell you what). Even then, it was iffy . . . probably because all the blood was rushing to my head.
Including a graphic from Skies Above, Stellarium, or similar apps might be helpful (for Orion).
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Changing hemispheres can be strange. 🙃
I had to get used to Orion looking different, the Moon being different, the direction which stars, planets, Moon and Sun approached sunset was different and of course some familiar constellations such as Ursa Minor became no longer visible.
Mars always catches me by surprise. After reappearing bright in the evening sky it quickly reaches opposition then hangs around for months getting dimmer and dimmer.
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I like seeing the sky images in your posts. They give me a workout changing my orientation. When I first started to read this post, I was using the WordPress Reader. It didn’t include your image being described. So, I clicked the ‘Visit’ button and went to the actual post url. That fixed it.
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Glad you had an orientation workout!
I didn’t know the WordPress Reader could drop an image. The reader has its uses but I mostly avoid it as it removes much of the ambience of the actual blog page.
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I often visit the actual site for those with more interesting content like yours. At times, I am in a hurry and use the reader for them all.
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The picture was there, just not all of it. The Reader cropped it to fit a particular space.
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Got it. The picture comes out as a boring patch of sky in the Reader.
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Great images and lucky you getting a clear night. it has been cloudy here in North West England for the last 2 weeks
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Thanks, Steve. Weather patterns have changed here too and I just have to grab the opportunity when it presents.
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