Comments on: Mars and the Moon http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/12/23/mars-and-the-moon/ I am an astronomer, writer, and skeptic. I likes reality the way it is, and I aims to keep it that way. My real name is Phil Plait, and I run the Bad Astronomy blog. Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:45:12 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: m.t.p http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/12/23/mars-and-the-moon/comment-page-1/#comment-60737 m.t.p Tue, 19 Feb 2008 02:37:31 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/12/23/mars-and-the-moon/#comment-60737 I saw this happen tonight Monday 2-18,2008 the moon crossed over mars. I was trilled. I went on linet to look it up happened at a little before 9.00. lakeland florida I saw this happen tonight Monday 2-18,2008 the moon crossed over mars. I was trilled. I went on linet to look it up happened at a little
before 9.00. lakeland florida

]]> By: Nigel Depledge http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/12/23/mars-and-the-moon/comment-page-1/#comment-60736 Nigel Depledge Thu, 27 Dec 2007 00:46:48 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/12/23/mars-and-the-moon/#comment-60736 I too got a nice pic of the Moon and Mars in close proximity, but I used a long exposure so the Moon is overexposed but the background stars are visible (and slightly streaked). I got some quite attractive lens flare off the Moon (or is it those alien spaceships?). I even created a flickr account so I could share it with the BA Blogees: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22177653@N03/2137686999/ I too got a nice pic of the Moon and Mars in close proximity, but I used a long exposure so the Moon is overexposed but the background stars are visible (and slightly streaked). I got some quite attractive lens flare off the Moon (or is it those alien spaceships?).

I even created a flickr account so I could share it with the BA Blogees:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22177653@N03/2137686999/

]]> By: darius http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/12/23/mars-and-the-moon/comment-page-1/#comment-60735 darius Tue, 25 Dec 2007 19:09:02 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/12/23/mars-and-the-moon/#comment-60735 I was driving from Whittier, CA (just east of Los Angeles) to Las Vegas, NV (where I live) on Sunday night. We started out just as it started to get dark, about 4:40 PM or so. A few minutes later, I noticed there was a small dot only slightly separated from the moon (at about the 5:00 position), and figured it was Mars due to the earlier post here about Mars being relatively close to us right now. I pointed it out to my wife (it took her a couple of minutes to find it), and I kept looking at it for the entire drive. Beautiful! I hadn't brought my camera equipment (just my wife's, which doesn't allow enough of an exposure time or ISO adjustment to get really good pictures at night), so unfortunately no pictures. As MJKelleher pointed out above, it still makes for a lovely memory. By the time we got home (about 9PM), the moon and Mars were separated by 2 to 3 apparent moon diameters. I was driving from Whittier, CA (just east of Los Angeles) to Las Vegas, NV (where I live) on Sunday night. We started out just as it started to get dark, about 4:40 PM or so. A few minutes later, I noticed there was a small dot only slightly separated from the moon (at about the 5:00 position), and figured it was Mars due to the earlier post here about Mars being relatively close to us right now.

I pointed it out to my wife (it took her a couple of minutes to find it), and I kept looking at it for the entire drive. Beautiful! I hadn’t brought my camera equipment (just my wife’s, which doesn’t allow enough of an exposure time or ISO adjustment to get really good pictures at night), so unfortunately no pictures. As MJKelleher pointed out above, it still makes for a lovely memory.

By the time we got home (about 9PM), the moon and Mars were separated by 2 to 3 apparent moon diameters.

]]> By: A.J. (the bad biologist) http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/12/23/mars-and-the-moon/comment-page-1/#comment-60734 A.J. (the bad biologist) Tue, 25 Dec 2007 11:54:14 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/12/23/mars-and-the-moon/#comment-60734 I'm in Vail CO and i got a fantastic view. just when I read the post and went out to check it out the sky cleared perfectly and I was able to see them both. wonderful I’m in Vail CO and i got a fantastic view. just when I read the post and went out to check it out the sky cleared perfectly and I was able to see them both.
wonderful

]]> By: Daniel Fischer http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/12/23/mars-and-the-moon/comment-page-1/#comment-60733 Daniel Fischer Tue, 25 Dec 2007 07:25:18 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/12/23/mars-and-the-moon/#comment-60733 A collection of links to particularly good images of the Moon actually occulting Mars or at least making a very close appulse can be found in the Cosmic Mirror at http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~dfischer/mirror/308.html (in the header). Happy Newton Day to all! A collection of links to particularly good images of the Moon actually occulting Mars or at least making a very close appulse can be found in the Cosmic Mirror at http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~dfischer/mirror/308.html (in the header).

Happy Newton Day to all!

]]> By: Edward C http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/12/23/mars-and-the-moon/comment-page-1/#comment-60732 Edward C Tue, 25 Dec 2007 05:21:21 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/12/23/mars-and-the-moon/#comment-60732 I would like to see a neat astronomical event. Maybe the clouds will part for Christmas. Does this situation occur every two years or so? I would like to see a neat astronomical event. Maybe the clouds will
part for Christmas.

Does this situation occur every two years or so?

]]> By: Kelson http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/12/23/mars-and-the-moon/comment-page-1/#comment-60731 Kelson Tue, 25 Dec 2007 03:36:12 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/12/23/mars-and-the-moon/#comment-60731 I'd gotten my wires crossed and thought somehow that it was Saturday night, and I'd missed it. So I was pleasantly surprised when, as my wife and I went to meet some friends for dinner, we turned onto the target street and right in front of us was the moon, with a tiny dot just off its lower right. We could actually see it from our table in the restaurant, and I pointed it out to our friends, one of whom immediately sent his wife a text message (they were visiting from out of town and had accidentally committed to two different gatherings at the same time) so she'd know to look out the window. Every few minutes, I'd look back at it, and watched as Mars shifted upwards past the moon. (Well, technically the other way around of course, but as far as perception goes, the moon's a bigger reference point.) I’d gotten my wires crossed and thought somehow that it was Saturday night, and I’d missed it. So I was pleasantly surprised when, as my wife and I went to meet some friends for dinner, we turned onto the target street and right in front of us was the moon, with a tiny dot just off its lower right.

We could actually see it from our table in the restaurant, and I pointed it out to our friends, one of whom immediately sent his wife a text message (they were visiting from out of town and had accidentally committed to two different gatherings at the same time) so she’d know to look out the window.

Every few minutes, I’d look back at it, and watched as Mars shifted upwards past the moon. (Well, technically the other way around of course, but as far as perception goes, the moon’s a bigger reference point.)

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