morgsboi Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 Has anyone seen the moon tonight in the south of England (maybe anywhere in the UK)? Does anyone know why it is so small, yet so bright? Is it because of the high air pressure? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Cuthber Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 Yesterday, as I was waiting for a bus I saw the moon and two planets lined up (I'm guessing Venus and Jupiter). I had plenty of time to look at them and I noticed that the whole of the moon was visible, even though it's only a crescent moon at the moment. I wanted to be sure it wasn't an optical illusions. To do that I moved myself so the bright part of the moon was hidden behind a chimney and roof. I could still see the "dark" bit of the moon. Today I saw the same scene from the same place as I went out to get a takeaway. It looked the same but the alignment was missing- they were no longer in a line. But they were the same size so, as far as I can tell, the moon today looked just the same size as it did yesterday. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joatmon Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 (edited) Some people are surprised when they hear that the moon and the sun appear, to a close approximation, the same size in the sky. Most people instinctively feel that the sun appears much larger. The fact that they appear the same size is what allows a full eclipse of the sun with the corona visible. The attachment is taken from the link:- http://en.wikipedia....ngular_diameter Edited February 25, 2012 by Joatmon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klaynos Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 I've seen it tonight from England. It looks very great. There was probably a planet close to it. I wouldn't like to say for sure but it was very bright. I got distracted I'm afraid to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morgsboi Posted February 25, 2012 Author Share Posted February 25, 2012 I've seen it tonight from England. It looks very great. There was probably a planet close to it. I wouldn't like to say for sure but it was very bright. I got distracted I'm afraid to say. Yeah, the planet is Venus. Is there a name for this type of event? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajb Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 (edited) Yesterday, as I was waiting for a bus I saw the moon and two planets lined up (I'm guessing Venus and Jupiter). I had plenty of time to look at them and I noticed that the whole of the moon was visible, even though it's only a crescent moon at the moment. Yes it is Venus and Jupiter, Venus is the brighter planet closer to the Moon. Venus and Jupiter will be moving closer together ready for a conjunction next month. Tonight there is great Earth Shine on the Moon. It would make a great picture with Venus for any budding astophotographer. Edited February 25, 2012 by ajb 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morgsboi Posted February 25, 2012 Author Share Posted February 25, 2012 Tonight there is great Earth Shine on the Moon. It would make a great picture with Venus for any budding astophotographer. Thanks for the info, do you think there will be earthshine tomorrow night? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajb Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 (edited) Thanks for the info, do you think there will be earthshine tomorrow night? I think so. The position of the Moon in the sky will not be greatly different from tonight nor will the phase. Jupiter will however appear closer to the Moon than Venus. I will be outside with my telescope tomorrow, as long a the sky is clear. I will try to get a picture. Edited February 25, 2012 by ajb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D H Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 Has anyone seen the moon tonight in the south of England (maybe anywhere in the UK)? Does anyone know why it is so small, yet so bright? Is it because of the high air pressure? The Moon is approaching apogee, so that might be what you are seeing. However, that you also see it as "bright" makes me think that something else is going on. The Moon is near apogee and is in the waxing crescent phase, only 15% of full. So it's definitely not "bright". I suspect that what you are seeing is the optical illusion known as the Moon illusion. The Moon appears to many to be much bigger shortly after moonrise / before moonset than it appears to be when it is higher in the sky. That apparently tiny Moon up in the sky looks bright for two reasons, one real and one that's in your head. It is brighter, for the same reason the Sun is brighter when it is high in the sky, due to the reduced amount of atmosphere the light has to pass through before it reaches your eyes. It also appears to be brighter because of two objects emitting the same amount of light, your mind perceives the smaller of the two as the brighter one. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morgsboi Posted February 25, 2012 Author Share Posted February 25, 2012 The Moon is approaching apogee, so that might be what you are seeing. However, that you also see it as "bright" makes me think that something else is going on. The Moon is near apogee and is in the waxing crescent phase, only 15% of full. So it's definitely not "bright". I suspect that what you are seeing is the optical illusion known as the Moon illusion. The Moon appears to many to be much bigger shortly after moonrise / before moonset than it appears to be when it is higher in the sky. That apparently tiny Moon up in the sky looks bright for two reasons, one real and one that's in your head. It is brighter, for the same reason the Sun is brighter when it is high in the sky, due to the reduced amount of atmosphere the light has to pass through before it reaches your eyes. It also appears to be brighter because of two objects emitting the same amount of light, your mind perceives the smaller of the two as the brighter one. That explains a lot, thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomgwyther Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 (edited) I live in the New Forest national park in the South of England, and so benefit from almost zero light pollution. I'll try and get a picture too if conditions are right. Ideal time should be about 19:30 GMT: looking west Edited February 26, 2012 by tomgwyther Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morgsboi Posted February 26, 2012 Author Share Posted February 26, 2012 I live in the New Forest national park in the South of England, and so benefit from almost zero light pollution. I'll try and get a picture too if conditions are right. Ideal time should be about 19:30 GMT: looking west Cool, I live in Dorset but there's unfortunately quite a lot of light pollution. But thanks for the best time. I will try and get a few pictures myself but my camera doesn't have a good telescopic lens. :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morgsboi Posted February 26, 2012 Author Share Posted February 26, 2012 (edited) I live in the New Forest national park in the South of England, and so benefit from almost zero light pollution. I'll try and get a picture too if conditions are right. Ideal time should be about 19:30 GMT: looking west Hi, I was wondering if you noticed a spaceship travelling past the moon at approximately <edit>19:35<edit> GTM? My grandfather told me to look out for it but I didn't see anything as there was too much light pollution. Edited February 26, 2012 by morgsboi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joatmon Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Hi, I was wondering if you noticed a spaceship travelling past the moon at approximately 20:35 GTM? My grandfather told me to look out for it but I didn't see anything as there was too much light pollution. It was probably hidden by the flying pink pig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morgsboi Posted February 26, 2012 Author Share Posted February 26, 2012 It was probably hidden by the flying pink pig. I seriously doubt he lied to me. I seriously doubt he lied to me. Also, I made a mistake. It was supposed to be 19:35 GTM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zapatos Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 I seriously doubt he lied to me. Did he tell you anything about the spaceship other than where it would be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StringJunky Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 (edited) Yeah, the planet is Venus. Is there a name for this type of event? The Moon, Venus and Jupiter were in conjunction This is probably your grandfather's "spaceship"...the International Spacestation: Edited February 26, 2012 by StringJunky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morgsboi Posted February 27, 2012 Author Share Posted February 27, 2012 Nope, maybe it was a satellite but I can't remember. The Moon, Venus and Jupiter were in conjunction This is probably your grandfather's "spaceship"...the International Spacestation: Ah yes, that would be it I guess. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StringJunky Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Although what was seen last night was very nice it was nothing compared to an occultation (Venus passing behind the Moon) of the moon and Venus I saw in 2001...when Venus exited between the horns of the crescent Moon it was exceptionally bright for a few minutes at the point shown in the image I mocked up. I have never seen such natural precision of position before or since...exquisitely beautiful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajb Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 I went out last night, but unfortunately there was too much haze in the sky to observe anything carefully. Taking photographs just did not work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joatmon Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 I seriously doubt he lied to me. Also, I made a mistake. It was supposed to be 19:35 GTM. Sorry if I caused offence - I thought you were joking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajb Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 This maybe of interest A study of light from the Earth that has bounced off the Moon could help astronomers in their search for life on distant planets. That is the claim of astronomers in Chile, the UK and Spain who have showed that faint light from the Earth contains strong signals of the biological processes that occur on our planet. Find out more at Physics World 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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