Dancing With the Moon

Jupiter, upper left, prepares to pass over the moon, January 21, 2012.

Anyone living in northeast Ohio and having astronomy as a hobby knows the perils. I read somewhere we only have 30 percent of our nights when the sky is clear. And you can guess the odds when there’s something special to see.

Tonight we got lucky, for the most part. The celestial event for tonight, long in the making, was a conjunction of the planet Jupiter (second brightest) and the moon, which is just past its waxing-quarter stage.

The odds were not in our favor: A lake-effect, snowstorm was blasting the eastern counties, and temperatures were heading toward single digits. We were still at a balmy 15 degrees at 8 p.m.

What’s life without a few challenges? The peak of the conjunction, when the moon and Jupiter would appear to be within one degree of each other (less than the width of your finger when held at arm’s length), would happen around 11:30 p.m. Bad news. By then winds were predicted to shift, bringing in clouds and snow. We’d miss the moment when it appears the Moon slides below Jupiter. Although another Moon-Jupiter conjunction is slated for March 17^th, I thought it best to strike while the iron was hot—so to speak.

It was a glorious sight. Susan and I watched clouds race overhead against the moon and planet, so bright they shown through creating the illusion of the clouds being behind the moon. Slightly above and to the right of the moon, the star cluster Pleiades, the Seven Sisters, fought for attention; begging observers to try and count the sisters. To the left and below, the brilliant orange-red star, Aldebaran stood out like a directional beacon for the passing clouds.

At our location the show ended around 8:30 when light snow began to fall. It was, however, well worth the price of admission.

P.S. Just before turning in for the night, I took one last look and, guess what? We had a break in the clouds permitting this shot of the conjunction. The two pictures are separated by about three hours.