May 15, 2007
Photo of the Day: May 15, 2007
Oooh! This photo is actually from January, but was just added to the DCist pool yesterday (I have to wonder if philliefan_99 waited until I was back doing Photo of the Day, knowing what a sucker I am for astrophotography). He stood at the base of the Washington Monument to take this shot of Comet McNaught, the brightest comet most of us have seen in our lifetimes. So bright, in fact, that it was able to shine through the smog and light pollution that usually obscures views from city centers (but which contributed to the gorgeous orange sky). It's almost amazing to note this was only a 1/4 second exposure.
If we may take this moment to geek out a little, these late spring nights are the perfect time to step out for a little stargazing. On a warm, clear evening, you won't even need binoculars to pick out some amazing sights. Start by finding Venus in the western sky just after sunset, which will only be visible for a few more weeks, but should be easy to find sitting right next to the new moon in a few days. Saturn sits higher in the southwest sky in the middle of Leo, also coming close to the moon around May 22. Now turn around and look in the northeast for one of the brightest stars in the sky. Not just a movie star, this is Vega, one of the most prominent stars in the summer sky and a part of the constellation Lyra. Keep your eye on it over the next month and a half, because soon Vega forms part of the Summer Triangle, a great starting point for constellation hunting. Incidentally, we'll have the first blue moon this month since 2004, on May 31.
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Don't forget that stargazing on a date is pretty much guaranteed to lead to a hook-up.
Heather -- don't forget about Mercury, which is coming back later this month in the evening sky!
Also, Saturday, May 19, is the next moon-Venus conjunction. This one's going to be a very close pairing, and the two will be directly under Gemini's twins Castor and Pollux. I'll have the camera ready for that!
When I saw this photo in the DCist pool I wanted to put money on it being chosen as the POTD, given Heather's self-professed astronomy weenieness.
Weenieness! Hey! You try standing in an open observatory in the middle of the night in January trying to teach a bunch of huffy college kids about deep sky objects for hours, then we'll see who's a weenie, after we check for frostbite. You must be referring to my astronomy "hardcoreness." I might settle for "hardcore geekiness," if we have to compromise. :)
But anyway, astrophotography is tough in general, and even more so for us light polluted city-folks, so I appreciate it when someone gives it a try, especially when it comes out like Phil's.
Heather, I guess we're crazy weenies, then. That January night was effing cold. I stood out on that hill for about an hour taking pics in an icy wind. The cool thing was that Comet McNaught was zipping so quickly toward the sun that you could actually watch it moving in the viewfinder, which is why I couldn't use a longer exposure.
As for light pollution, sometimes I go all the way out to Manassas battlefield to take pics -- including the Leonids in 2000 and 2001, and a couple other comets in 2002 and 2003. If I had better (i.e., more expensive) equipment, I could do more, but I'll have to make do with what I have now.
You and Phil sound like a weenie match made in heaven! All of your talk of Leonids and Summer Triangles...does that make your horny, baby?
Next time you two are out freezing to death taking photos of cosmic ice particals you can keep each other warm. ;)
Are the stars out tonight, I can't tell if it's cloudy or bright. . .