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[Centaur]

Who will be the first to spot the September New Moon with naked eyes after sunset? The Dark Moon will be in geocentric longitudinal conjunction with the Sun on 2010 SEP 08 at 10:30 UT (05:30 CDT). We’re near the autumnal equinox, which is the worst time of year for sighting really young Moons from north of the tropics. This month’s waxing crescent Moon will be near its maximum latitude south of the ecliptic, which increases the negative effect of the ecliptic’s sharp intersection with the dusk horizon at this time of year.

North Americans will likely find it impossible to find the Moon until it is more than 2.5 days old on September 10. That evening it will be about 10% illuminated, making it Diana’s Bow which is named after the archery equipment of the ancient Roman goddess of hunting and the Moon. It will be interesting to see who accepts and succeeds with the tough challenge this month.

I’ve created two graphics previewing the western sky after sunset on September 10 & 11. They both should well serve most North American observers. The Moon will appear beneath the triangle of Venus, Mars & Spica on September 10 and to the left of that group during the following evening. The previews can be seen by clicking: www.curtrenz.com/astronomical then going to the Moon page.

Photos and descriptions of the September 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 from Arlington Heights, Illinois after sunset on 2007 SEP 13 of a 2.5-day-old Moon under circumstances similarly difficult to this month.

[Paulie pchris00]

I was starting to think you'd forgotten! If it's clear, I'm going to catch it tomorrow, no doubt about it.

[Paulie pchris00]

Hillary and I gave it our best shot, but there were clouds hanging around right where there Moon was setting. Narrative and pictures later. The clouds are clearing, so we're going out for some sdiewalk astronomy in Valpo.

[patrickm]

Here's the best I can do, which ain't very good, but what do you want from a phone pic 2 days late?!

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[Centaur]

Thanks for sharing, patrick. You win this month's contest! Skies were crystal clear here all day until clouds lined the horizon at dusk.

[patrickm]

I finally won something!! Yay.

Forgot to say that this was shot in Austin, TX. Tried to get Venus and the moon together but the moon dropped like a rock after this shot and by the time we got back to Mom's, I couldn't get them both. Ah, well.

A really beautiful scene though. Oh, for a telescope!

[Paulie pchris00]

Congratulations Patrick! And here I was thinking I was the only one playing along!

Here is the reason Patrick won September's new Moon challenge:


Looking forward to September’s new Moon, Chicago Astronomer Curt had warned us that it would be a particularly difficult new Moon to spot, but that wasn’t going to stop me. August’s new Moon was supposed to have been difficult too, but Hillary and I had found it. Thursday evening we went back to our spot in the bank parking lot, overlooking Valpo’s downtown park to get a glimpse of the Moon.


I had boasted earlier on this thread that as long as it wasn’t cloudy, I would find the young Moon, no problem. All day it had been rather cloudy, but the forecast for the night was great (Accuweather’s astronomy forecast gave it a “10”), and more importantly, from carefully watching the skies for a few years now, I had a feeling that there would be some serious telescope time. What I wasn’t counting on is that the clouds didn’t start clearing out until just before sunset. Key word: start.


Arriving at our observation site, there was a large tent set up in the park, in preparation for Valparaiso’s annual Popcorn Festival this weekend (Orville Redenbacher was a native of Valparaiso), and it partially obscured our view. Worse though were the clouds due west, spreading out over us to the east and southeast. There was a small break just above the horizon, but would it be enough to give us our first look at the Moon in this new lunar cycle?








Hillary surveying the cloudy situation when we first arrived on site.







It was almost seven o'clock, and the sunset turned the courthouse pink.







We set up scopes, and had binoculars out, and caught the attention of a catering worker below us. We told him what we were doing, trying to win the new Moon challenge among Chicago Astronomers. The local newspaper gave a sunset time of 7:11, and a Moonrise time of 7:30. That gave us only a 19 minute window to catch sight of the Moon, and the bank of clouds were definitely going to cut into those precious few minutes.











I noted that the Sun had gone through a small break in the distant treeline as it angled to the horizon, and concentrated most of my Moon efforts near the same area. Following so quickly behind the Sun, it seemed the most logical place to look for the Moon.


I wanted to spot the Moon naked eye first, but with such challenging conditions, Hillary and I used binoculars and the spotting scope of my Dob respectively to try to find Luna. Neither of us was successful.












Hillary making a last, futile effort to find the Moon.









By 7:23, the Moon was almost certainly above the horizon, but below the trees and buildings of Valpo, so we turned our attention northward for a pass of International Space Station. It wasn’t a high pass, only 18 degrees above the horizon according to heavens-above, but there were scant clouds off to the north, and at magnitude of -1.5, ISS seemed to be a sure thing. Somehow we missed it. We waited and waited for it to fly by, but never saw a thing.




Somehow we missed ISS with a mostly clear view to the north.









The early evening sky wasn’t letting me share in any of it’s delights, and the air was turning chilly, but I was determined to see Venus. The clouds were slowly moving out, and the break below them was getting larger. Still we had to wait another 15 minutes before Venus dropped below the cloud cover and Hillary spotted it. After having a look at our nearest planetary neighbor, we stopped by Blackbird Café for coffee and food.




Hillary waiting for Venus.






Finally Venus dropped below the cloud cover.




Hillary viewing her favorite planet, Venus.


By the time we left Blackbird, Jupiter was up, and I wanted to see it. I wanted to share it too, so I carried my Dob in front of the courthouse, where we could get a good view of it over downtown apartments, and still be visible from Lincolnway. Saturn, Mars, Venus, and Mercury had been the only planets out since I started doing sidewalk astronomy earlier this year, but in my opinion, Jupiter beats them all. Even Saturn and it’s beautiful rings.




Me, drinking coffee, and hiding my cigarette behind my back.




Tents are set up all around the courthouse square, ready for this weekend's Popcorn Festival.


We were about halfway between the sidewalk and the courthouse, between an array of streetlights, but nobody stopped, or showed any interest in what we were viewing. After about half an hour I decided that we should walk over to the corner, to be closer to pedestrian traffic. We had people walk right by us, but again nobody showed any interest. Finally the chill and lack of interest was getting to me, so I grabbed the telescope, and we walked back to my car.






We moved over to the corner of Lincolnway and Washington, hoping for more attention.




Hillary wearing my Bears hoodie over her own hoodie. It was her first day back from Florida, so the chilly late summer night seemed cooler to her.


Taking Hillary home, with few lights around and a mostly clear sky, I wanted to start my hunt for Comet Hartley 2. My star hopping skills aren’t the best, but according to a chart published in October’s Sky & Telescope, it should have been easy to find. I did my star hop, but kept coming up empty. I don’t know the magnitude yet, and with very little experience targeting comets, I’m not sure what to expect. I left Hillary’s house without finding Comet Hartley, and my luck was no better after I got home. Hartley will be getting closer and brighter for the next few weeks, so I’m sure I’ll find it eventually, but for now it was just another missed target on a night that turned out surprisingly clear.

pchris00pnc.blogspot.com/2010/09/no-new-moon-iss-or-hartley-2.html


And just for the record, Curt, I consulted your Hartley chart online first, but the first date you have shown is September 18. But I'll save further comments and questions for that thread.

[patrickm]

Great pics, Paulie!! Esp. love the pink courthouse. Hillary is quite the trooper!

Got lucky with the moon. Walked out of Magnolia Cafe and there it was. Wish I'd been more patient and framed Venus with it as well. Man, Luna dropped like, umm, like a big rock from the low point where I spotted it!

The comet I found was an 8.6 and was an exceedingly faint blue green smudge with no tail. Can't wait to hunt this one!
p

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Chicago got clouded over by sundown, but I was with Chicago Astronomer Steve testing out a new eyepiece he got recently.

(More on this in a bit.)

Saw no celestial objects.

On Public viewing...

When I first started out doing public sessions, I set up the 4.5" Polaris Scope, (as tall as I could extend the legs), and set up by the Copernicus statue. It delivered great views and made many friends. People jumped out of cars to see what I was doing and the Chicago Astronomer was born.

But there were times when the area was deserted of foot traffic....feeling kinda lonely - and if I wasn't imaging or observing something special...back went the scope and came back home. All except for one, the women in my life never fully supported the activity and some even discouraged it.

Not cool.

They are gone, but the telescopes are still here.... ;D

[Centaur]

That was a valiant effort, Paulie, but as you noted I tried to warn folks about Thursday in my original post. For Valpo that evening the Moon set only 21 minutes after the Sun while the western sky was still rather bright.

[Paulie pchris00]

I had to try. Patrick, maybe you got lucky, but the key to your success was that you were looking up.

[Centaur]

Sept 11, 2010 15:58:54 GMT -6 Paulie pchris00 said:

I had to try. Patrick, maybe you got lucky, but the key to your success was that you were looking up.

Patrick's luck was was that the horizon was not so cloudy for him on Friday. I too was looking on Friday, but the horizon clouds thwarted me. We may have better luck this evening.

[Paulie pchris00]

Well, here was my first look at the "new" Moon, last Saturday at Conway Observatory in Lowell, Indiana.




The full story of the night's observing session can be read on my blog.

pchris00pnc.blogspot.com/2010/09/public-observing-at-conway-observatory.html