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[Centaur]

Who will be the first to spot the March New Moon with naked eyes after sunset? Similar to last month this will present an opportunity for those of us north of the tropics to witness an unusual Lunar Boat, i.e. a crescent Moon in a U-shape. Some call it a Cheshire Cat smile. The Dark Moon will be in geocentric longitudinal conjunction with the Sun on 2010 MAR 15 at 21:01 UT (16:01 CDT). North Americans should have a good chance of sighting in the western sky a Moon just a little more than a day old shortly after sunset on March 16th. Bright Venus will serve as a guide about 7° to the left of the Moon.

I’ve created a graphic previewing the western sky from Chicagoland 25 minutes after sunset on March 16th. It should well serve most North American observers. It can be seen by clicking: www.curtrenz.com/astronomical then going to the Moon page.

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

Below is a Lunar Boat photo I took nearly a year ago from Arlington Heights, Illinois of the Moon aged 31:46 hrs on 2009 MAR 27.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Curt,

I tried to spot the Lunar Boat Tuesday evening, but low lying western clouds obscured the horizon....and no dice.

But, the next couple of evenings will be good to catch and image the Venus/Moon conjunction.

[Centaur]

You should have had a good opportunity this evening, Joe!

Yesterday there also was a ragged jumble of clouds along my western horizon after sunset, precluding a sighting of the Moon or Venus. Tonight the sky is crystal clear allowing for a nice scene of The Old Moon in the New Moon’s Arms smiling above brilliant Venus. Here’s the result taken from Arlington Heights, Illinois on 2010 MAR 17 at 19:47 CDT which was 46 minutes after sunset and 88 minutes before moonset.

[Paulie pchris00]

I first saw the lunar boat about 7:05 PM CDST at home in Valparaiso, IN (as I was pulling in the driveway). The picture below of the Moon & Venus was taken about 15 minutes later.

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