April 22, 2009: Moon and Venus

Rob Jaworski

Quick Observing Report from the driveway this morning.

I was aware that the moon was going to play hide and seek with Venus this morning, but the eclipsing lights-out was going to be too early. And, the sky last night was a bit murky with wispy clouds all around; didn't look too good.

Had to be up early anyway for work today, and after getting my cup of joe, went out to the driveway for a look. Nice, clear sky, just getting light a few minutes after 6AM PDT, just gorgeous. And there's the sleek crescent moon. Beautiful. But... where's Venus? Should it not have been out from behind luna by now? Hmm. Surely I should have been able to see it. After all, it's usually the brightest thing in the sky after the moon.

Went back inside to fire up the laptop to check if today was indeed the day, and if so, when and what to expect. Confirmed that yes, it should be there and I should have missed the show (note the error; caffeine hadn't completely hit my nervous system yet).

Went back outside and lo and behold, there was Venus, shining brightly right next to the mouth of the crescent. Spectacular, truly.

The early morning events and sights are hard to get to. It's either too early, or I get busy, or just plain forget. Glad I was able to catch the tail of this one, though I missed, probably by just a few mere minutes, the planet coming out from behind our sole satellite.

Gorgeous, and I retroactively recommend not missing this one.

Rob