Friday, March 09, 2018

Night Sky Photography -- 03-05-2018 -- All Five Wanderers This Week!

Greetings and salutations fellow stargazers!

This week all five of the "wandering stars" (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn) were visible in the clear Southern sky over South Carolina.  

Not all at once mind you. Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are visible in the morning along with the Last Quarter Moon while Mercury and Venus appear in the west following the setting sun in the evenings. 



I captured these great shots of Mercury and Venus on the evening of March 5th although they will be visible to stargazers in the evening just after sunset throughout the month and remain visible until they set an hour later over the horizon. Mercury appears very dim because the small planet is in waning phase, but is easily visible beside the larger and brighter Venus. 


This morning (March 9th) I managed to just wake up in time to catch the outer planets and Luna spaced out in the southeastern sky in my front yard just before sunrise along with the bright star Antares just above the treeline. 

The two planets which orbits the Sun inside the Earth's orbit are referred to as inferior planets. Mercury and Venus both orbit the Sun faster than the Earth, and experience inferior conjunctions and superior conjunctions, but never oppositions. 

The best time for observing an inferior planet is when it is at its greatest elongation from the Sun.  In fact, Mercury will reach its greatest eastern elongation -- its maximum angular separation from the setting sun -- on Thursday, March 15, 2018.

All the other major planets, and the majority of the minor and dwarf planets, which orbit outside of Earth's orbit in the solar system are referred to as superior planets. Superior planets orbit the Sun more slowly than the Earth, and experience oppositions and superior conjunctions.

Luna is currently in her Last Quarter and waning towards her New Moon phase as she moves east past the outer planets (she will be between Saturn and Mars on Saturday, March 10th) and continue to set before the sunrise. By Sunday, March 18th she will reappear as a faint crescent next to Mercury and Venus after sunset. The Good Lord and clear skies willing this blogger will capture the whisker-thin very young moon when she meets up with the two inferior planets in the evening sky.

Until next time, keep your eyes to the night skies, y'all hear? 

7 comments:

Steve Gambone said...

Hi CW. The excuse for posting this here is that star wanderers and Robinson Crusoe on Mars get Trekkie minds a wandering.

I thought up a fun Confederate Flag, Star Trek, Sting setup con that might interest you. It’s a bit of Harry Mudd and The Sting mixed with Confederate snarky humor.

We know in advance what will happen if it’s known that the VA Flaggers will have even a small celebration at the Lee statue recently freed from PC purgatory in Charlottesville. Black Lives Matter Drones and White Supremacist drones will show up drawing in the PC Media drones. The media drones will do their usual, attempt to smother their viewers in their artificially sweetened, non-nutritive honey TV coverage.

Assume the VA Flaggers set up the sting, publicly announcing a March 31st celebration in Charlottesville at Lee’s statue. A small enough number of Flaggers so there’s no need for a permit to peacefully assemble. The Flaggers need to be prepared with enough pro-Jewish Robert E. Lee info to ward off supremacist drones.

The mission impossible for you and your Starship crew is to reprogram as many drones as you can. At the same time you’re trying to scientifically prove media bias exists by recording in advance your predictions of drone behavior. Comparing those predictions to recordings of the actual event and PC TV reports about the encounters.

So your communications officer notifies the Police that 4 of you will be there to educate folks about Abe Lincoln and hand out educational flyers. Adding your small band will in no way get close to those Lee celebrating folks, the Flaggers. {Given the prime directive you must steer clear of sentient beings like the Flaggers anyway.} You inform authorities truthfully but... leave out a few itty bitty details.

The ‘protest’ signs your Fantastic Foursome carry will read, “DEPORT AFRICANS” in bold letters at the top (not ‘blacks’, it must say ‘Africans’). Underneath that a small picture of Lincoln encircled by a heart with other little hearts or XOXO huggy kissy things. Under that in smaller font “Go With Lincoln” under that “Save the Dream”. Your educational material will include things like Lincoln’s racist quote about whites being the superior race. Along with his dream of getting rid of the African problem through voluntary (or not) deportation. Telling folks there your big dream is to have a big white supremacist rally at the Lincoln Memorial with lots of 1860’s Union Flags and Lincoln quotations. (That’s not a total lie right?)

My predictions (assuming you and crew don’t die laughing or from drone assault) are based on past behaviors. The drones most likely to accept your “teachings” will be the supremacist drones. They will hive themselves around the most powerful symbol, in this case Lincoln. The media will do their usual and show you and your supremacist ‘friends’ in their reports, editing in shots of the distant VA Flaggers to show the Flaggers, and the Dixie Cross in the worst possible light. BLM drones will never get past DEPORT on your signs. They’ll spend most of their time screaming at supremacist drones for the media cameras and some of those scream fests will be in the TV reports.

Note: “Africans” is there for a number of reasons including it’s your snarky defense later if needed. That your intent was to suggest the idea of deporting white Africans, like the white South Africans. ‘Cuz we already got way too many stupid white people in this once great Nation. And that in hindsight you should’ve written “Save the Dreamers” to make your intent of supporting non-white immigrants a bit clearer.

There is obvious physical risk involved for you, your crew and the Flaggers. The Police should naturally protect you all from the illegally gathered, non-permitted morons. Theoretically at least. Extra pro-Confederate forces could be wandering nearby for an emergency defense, them being and acting as a well regulated militia.

Steve Gambone said...

Hey CW. Got any special photography plans for the March 31st. Passover starts on the Eve of Easter and April fool’s day. That’s gotta be a rare star crossed event.

C.W. Roden said...

There is actually a Blue Moon - the second full moon in a month - on the 31st of March and the moon will remain full on Easter. The following morning on April 2nd there will be a planetary conjunction of Saturn and Mars. I am hoping to capture the later event if I can.

C.W. Roden said...

LMAO! Dude not sure what that has to do with planetary photography, but I swear you just won the internet with that one!

Steve Gambone said...

Well dah CW!
A picture show of wandering stars out in there in the galaxy. Loonies spaced out. Separation from the setting son that brings us Life and Liberty. The states of inferior planets, warmer in climate like they’re Dixie planets. Wandering in their revolutionary way by an unseen force that binds them and us from flying off into space up, up and away from this PC lunatic asylum this once great nation has become.
Meanwhile those friggin’ loony Lincoln master race ‘superior’ planets so distant from the sun of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness with their stinging cold of a North Star climate. It makes perfect sense posting that anti-commie comment of mine here.

Three quotes come to mind. The F Troop quote, “That makes sense. Not to me but it makes sense.”

My oft used self-portrait quote, “I’m trained in mathematics. Math people are crazy. It’s not bragging if it’s true.”

Followed up by my recently deduced explanatory First-Contact-with-a-lone-Euclidean-quote, “A Euclidean being a well regulated militia of minds, necessary to the defense of a free thinking, scientific state of mind.”

We Euclideans operate within a sort of non-interference directive. We’re kinda like the Stooges version of Gort in “The Day the Earth Stood Still”. That big silver dude had no sense of humor at all. Obviously, as Captain Kirk once pointed out, superior beings have a great need for play.

The morale being if you wanna get super smart try getting super silly stupid first. Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk.

Speaking of a silly wandering mind. I’m assembling some metaphors in the construction of an Anthony Hervey flag display system topped by what I call a ‘Dixie Weathervane’. Obviously a Dixie weathervane only needs one compass heading, True South.

Do you Confederate folks already have those?

Steve Gambone said...

cc: Virginia Flaggers
C.W. Roden of Southern Fried Common Sense
Worcester Telegram and Gazette columnist Diane Williamson c/o Editorial staff.

Heads up folks. There’s a Union General about to get pc moron nuked who needs rescuing.

“As I see it, they don’t see it”

Seriously?
Snowflake stupid just went pc viral thanks to CommieWealth of Massachusetts state representative Michelle Dubois. A woman destined for pc knighthood. Heroically mounting her hobby horse like she’s the vegan non-dairy blizzard queen of pc word-puzzle solving geniuses.

Alas, poor, poor snowflakes are taken aback to a turn-to-stone age as they gaze upon the horror of it all. Spoiler Alert, that undeniable obscenity is now coming at you in this very document. Read no more lest you too fall victim to its pc evil.

Civil War General Joseph Hooker has a building entrance named after him. It’s the... wait for it...
“General Hooker Entrance”.

I’m hoping the double quotes provided your mind with preventative, prophylactic ‘std’ protection. That lower case acronym is short for snowflake-transmittance-disorder. The highly contagious pc mental health tragedy where your neurons stop firing so completely your brain gets listed on Craig’s list under a granite countertop heading.

Sufferers of std get so pc dumb that they solve word puzzles like a contestant General Sherman tromping through the pc wheel of misfortune game show.

“Get rid of that entire puzzle Pat. Don’t disrespect my constitutional right to never be offended”.

In other words, do the Adolph-Hitler-book-burning thing. Remove the sign completely, or... wait for it.

“Hey Vanna. Forget Jesus and Mary. Do me an Oreo cookie overstuffed favor when Pat’s not looking. Jam ‘Joseph’ between ‘General’ and ‘Hooker. That’s looking oh, so pc sweet, hun”.

Newsflash folks. In the real world game the characters and spaces all count. Trade in two empty spaces and buy yourselves into the obvious.

Last one to join the hashtag-you’re-it-GeneralHookerEntrance movement to educate pc morons has a snowball’s chance in hell of ever solving a real problem.

Steve Gambone said...

Hey there CW. Here’s the lead in and the lyrics to a tune of mine that can counter this Washington and Lee gayla crap I just heard about at the Virginia Flaggers blog. Boston’s pc idiotic St. Patrick’s Day Parade is this weekend, I think? We got a bunch of snow this week so I’ll have to check if it’s still on. There may be a way to launch a musical Southern assault on these idiots.

“This is Maya Mahty of Bahston. This yee-ah, we finally let the ultimate defendahs of sexual preference lead the mah-chuhs in ah Saint Patty’s Day parade. We’ve mah-keted sex preferences to little kids at these things for yee-ahs with no ill effects that we geniuses could ever possibly detect. Moe-ah importantly, without any totally justifiable arrests for acting like a bunch of pervs in front of little kids.
Ya know what I mean. The “Hey kids, wanna come with me to learn about my sexual preferences?” thing.
So without any furthah delay in the climax of ah parade... Hee-ya they ah.
The Mastahbation Mah-chin’ Band! Staht your music guys.”


Salute our poles that have no flag.
Yes. People say our poles are big but we don’t wanna brag.
We have what matters well in hand.
The Masturbation Marching Band.

Yes! We will proudly march as the ultimate defender
of ev’ry gay and lesbian, bisexual, transgender.
And even those of you who cannot make up your mind,
you too can join our ranks knowing we will treat you kind.

‘Cuz if you’re adult and questioning it can’t be that you’re stupid.
You simply don’t know where to look to find the help of cupid.
So come close to see our pride and joy and sneak a little peak.
Please no comments about size ‘cuz it’s been freezing for a week.

Come closer one and all to take our picture with your phones.
We’ll tilt our heads way back extending slides on our trombones.
Come and see our pride and joy glowing as we yell and moan,
“There is no safer sex that beats the kind when you’re alone.”

This is what our Nation’s coming too with pc values strong.
Come join us as we march to be immortalized in song.
As we market sex to kids, we all know that can’t be wrong.
Our dream is for each little one to feel like they belong.
Pot’s legal now so folks hand the nearest kid a bong.

The Masturbation Marching Band.
No need to lock your doors as we goosestep across the land.
‘Cuz ev’rybody’s safe. We have what matters well in hand.
We’ll keep doing stupid stuff until we finally get banned.
The Masturbation Marching Band.