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[Centaur]

Who will be the first to spot the April New Moon with naked eyes after sunset? A combination of circumstances will make it possible for North Americans to spot the Moon aged less than 24 hours. For those at mid-northern latitudes it will appear in an unusual U-shape like the smiling Cheshire Cat.

The Dark Moon will be in geocentric longitudinal conjunction with the Sun on 2008 APR 06 at 03:55 UT. We’re in the months of the year surrounding the vernal equinox during which New Moon spotting is ideal for northern hemisphere observers. The current point in the Moon’s 18.6-year nodal cycle is also helpful. And being near perigee helps the Moon to separate from the Sun more quickly.

I’ve created a graphic previewing the western sky as viewed from Chicagoland 25 minutes after sunset on Sunday April 6, although it should well serve most North Americans. There will be no other planets or bright stars to serve as guides. Therefore the azimuth and altitude markings on the diagram will be particularly helpful. The graphic can be seen by clicking: www.curtrenz.com/astronomical.html

Photos or descriptions of the April New Moon would be welcome additions to this thread. Please include the date, time, time zone and location. Good Luck!

Below is a photo I took on 2007 MAR 19 of the Moon aged 21:45 hours, which is my personal best. I hope to beat that this month.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Curt,

That slender crescent of yours from last year is the best I have seen locally.

Anticipate your beating your best time.

Excellent.

[mahesh]

That is an awesome photograph Mr Renz, just about perceptible crescent!
Thank you for sharing this twenty-one-hours-old moon with us. wishing you clear skies for your shoots today.

(It's cloudy here today and snowing.)

[katodog]

Did I catch you, Curt??? I tried, but as usual, it's got to be cloudy out. Go figure. I shouldn't expect anything else, since most of my astronomical career has been spent looking at clouds for almost every astro event I've wanted to look at.

Oh well, such is the world of astronomy. Here's my contribution to this month's New Moon, both with the Canon 10D. The first with a 75-300mm lens at 300mm, and the second with a 28-200mm lens at around 50mm or so...







In the second pic, the moon is way at the top. I wanted to catch a wider field, but the moon was still pretty high, and now it's clouded over. I can see it through the haze, but there's really nothing to shoot with the camera.

My camera said the time was 6:29pm, but since I didn't change the time on it for DST, it was actually 7:29pm. My stupidity hard at work.

[katodog]

Curt, am I calculating my time right at about 21 hours? I still haven't figured out the technical stuff.

[Centaur]

mahesh said:

That is an awesome photograph Mr Renz, just about perceptible crescent!
Thank you for sharing this twenty-one-hours-old moon with us. wishing you clear skies for your shoots today.

(It's cloudy here today and snowing.)

Thanks for your kind words, mahesh. On Sunday the clouds rolled in here as the Sun was setting, but no snow.

[Centaur]

katodog said:

Curt, am I calculating my time right at about 21 hours? I still haven't figured out the technical stuff.

Ed, I’ll reply here first and then perhaps later at Cloudy Nights. Congratulations on your sighting of the New Moon. Thanks for sharing the photos. Well done! For me the clouds arrived as the Sun was setting on Sunday the 6th, so I was not able to set a new personal record.

It’s not clear whether you took the pictures on the 6th or the 7th. Did you actually spot the Moon by naked eye at the stated time? For you the Sun set on the 6th at 19:24 CDT and on the 7th at 19:25. Sighting such a slender Moon through haze by naked eye only 4 or 5 minutes after sunset is miraculous. Are you certain that your camera’s clock was accurate, other than the matter of the adjustment for daylight time? If your camera was level relative to the horizon, the Moon’s orientation in the photo is more like that of the 7th than the 6th. The apparent altitude of the Moon seems more as it would have been on the 7th than the 6th. The width of the crescent is more consistent with the 7th than the 6th, but that could be due to the exposure time. I apologize if my doubts are unjustified.

The geocentric longitudinal conjunction between the Moon and Sun took place on April 5th at 22:55 CDT. Once we nail down the date and time of your naked eye sighting, we can calculate the age of the Moon. If you spotted it by naked eye on the 6th, then you’ve beaten my personal record. But as you’ve probably seen at Cloudy Nights, this month people in eastern Canada and the U.K. have beaten us both.

[katodog]

You are correct. It was yesterday, the 7th. The date was right, just the time was off by an hour. I went back and re-read your original post, and saw that the New Moon was on the 6th. If I would have known (translated as "If I would have paid more attention to your original post") then I would have looked for it on the 6th. I just gave the post a quick look for the time, and didn't even look at the date. That's what I get for being an idiot. I wonder if I could have seen it on the 6th. It's pretty hard to catch it that early, since by the time the Sun is down past the houses, the Moon quickly follows. I'm surprised I caught it Monday with all the haze and clouds. I kept watching after I went back in the house to see if it would clear up. I wanted to get a shot of the Moon on top of the cell tower.


But, date and time should be April 7, at 7:29pm (19:29). Original camera time, according to the Exif info, was April 7 2008, 6:29:36. But, it was around 7:30 when I was shooting the pics. I saw the Moon through the bedroom window about 2 or 3 minutes before I started shooting the pics. I already had the camera on the tripod from shooting bird shots, so I just carried it outside as soon as I saw the Moon.

[Centaur]

I understand, Ed, that can happen. Nevertheless, your sighting of the Moon aged 44:34 hours is commendable. Another responder in my similar thread in which you participated at Cloudy Nights was a full day off in his report of last sighting the Old Moon prior to conjunction. Someone in eastern Canada spotted the New Moon aged 19:20 hours, and a U.K. observer chimed in with an amazing 15:13 hours. Here’s a quick link: www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/2287974/page/0/view/collapsed/sb/5/o/all/fpart/1

[katodog]

44 hours?!? I think I'm going to cry.

Well, if it wasn't for my massive brain fart on the date, I might have caught you. I guess the more mistakes I make, the better my memory will become, since I'll be thinking not to make the same mistake again.

The only problem there is that I may not make the same mistake again, but I'll make some whole different mistakes.

I think some of those reports on CN may be a little padded. Some of those times seem pretty hard. I mean, the human eye can only see so good, and if the Sun has just set, the sky is still going to be pretty well lit. I think it's got to be pretty darned hard to see such a tiny crescent. My hat's off to you for that pic you got of the tiny crescent. It's an excellent photo.

[Centaur]

katodog said:

44 hours?!? I think I'm going to cry.

I think some of those reports on CN may be a little padded.

Don’t worry, Ed. Your big day could come next month. We might have a chance to beat those guys at Cloudy Nights. Here in Chicagoland we may be able to spot the Moon aged about 13 hours on May 5th. I’ll provide details and graphics when we get closer to that date.