# Heads up - literally - on Feb.20



## pgriz (Feb 16, 2015)

No photo yet.

But, for those of you who enjoy shooting sunsets, moons and planets, the sunset of February 20 could be pretty special.  See this link for the details:  Venus and Mars Pair Tightly at Dusk - Sky Telescope 

What should be really neat is the young moon next to those two planets.  And they should all be low enough to capture some nice foreground scenery at the same time.  We're doing a wedding rehearsal that day, so I can't shoot, but I thought I'd give the rest of you a heads-up - if you're interested.


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## Designer (Feb 16, 2015)

Thanks, Paul.  I seldom make the effort to get into the car and drive someplace where I can see the sky better, but this might be the time to do that.


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## snerd (Feb 16, 2015)

Sounds cool.................. would regular landscape shooting work, or is this more of an astro-type shot?


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## pgriz (Feb 16, 2015)

snerd said:


> Sounds cool.................. would regular landscape shooting work, or is this more of an astro-type shot?



Should be a dusk/twilight type shot.  According to Stellarium (Stellarium) and TPE (The Photographer s Ephemeris), the moon should be about 3.5% full, and around 20 degrees above the horizon about 30 minutes after sunset (at end of civil twilight).  Attached is the screen-grab from Stellarium:



 

That's from my location.  You will have a slightly different view and timing based on your location.  But the neat thing is that we'll all be looking at a very young moon (just a sliver of a crescent), pointing to two planets that are very close to each other.  Venus will be very bright, Mars much less so.


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## pgriz (Feb 16, 2015)

Bumpity bump.  For the afternoon crowd.


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## spiralout462 (Feb 16, 2015)

Thanks for the "heads up"! lol  The youngins and I will check it out for sure.


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## weepete (Feb 16, 2015)

Any idea if I'd see this in Scotland? Or will it be different


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## JustJazzie (Feb 16, 2015)

How neat!! Not sure if I'll be willing to brave the cold, it's looking like 15° and snow that evening.


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## pgriz (Feb 16, 2015)

weepete said:


> Any idea if I'd see this in Scotland? Or will it be different



The timing may be somewhat different, but you should see the same overall configuration.  If you download Stellarium (it's free, and the link is in post #4 above), you will be asked to indicate your location, and the planetarium software will then calculate what you should see at your latitude and longitude.  Same for TPE.


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## weepete (Feb 16, 2015)

Thanks mate, I'll have a gander then. It's always a bit of a gamble here with cloud cover common and unpredictable. Fingers crossed we'll get a clear sky then. Thanks for the heads up!


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## annamaria (Feb 19, 2015)

That's pretty neat, I will have to brave the freezing temps if I go out.  Thanks for the info.


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## thereyougo! (Feb 20, 2015)

Here it is from South Wales about 15 minutes ago....

Pentax 645Z FA 400 f/5.6 uncropped.




The-Moon,-Mars-and-Venus by singingsnapper, on Flickr


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## MikeFlorendo (Feb 20, 2015)

Nice it's low tide at dusk and if the clouds clear I have a date with an arch down on the coast.  Thanks for the heads up!


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## sneakypete (Feb 20, 2015)

I'm SO bummed. it was too cloudy around sunset. then after dinner I took a peek and saw it out! so I rushed all the way to end of the drive way (600ft). it was so cold. I was only able to get two shots off (neither of which are any good) before it ducked back behind clouds. I BLEW IT!

This was my first time taking a picture of the moon and literally could only take two shots. didnt even have time to trial and error. 

NE Ohio 7:15pm



venus mars moon wide (1 of 1) by floppypickles, on Flickr




venus mars moon (1 of 1) by floppypickles, on Flickr


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## sm4him (Feb 20, 2015)

Too much cloud cover here, no moon, planets or stars visible.


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## S.Byrne (Feb 21, 2015)

I managed to get a clear view last night.  The power lines are somewhat of a distraction.  
Canon 6D/ISO 400/70mm/f4/1.3sec


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## spiralout462 (Feb 21, 2015)

These are from beautiful Chincoteague Island VA!
As it got darker Mars really started to glow red.  I did not have the time or a tripod as it got dark out.  I'm OK with that.  It was a spectacular sight nonetheless.

moonvenusmarssandscape by shotwellbrian, on Flickr




moonvenusmars by shotwellbrian, on Flickr



moonvenusmarssandscapeedited by shotwellbrian, on Flickr


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## MikeFlorendo (Feb 21, 2015)

Clouds in mine too but I kind of got a break for a second.


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## pgriz (Feb 22, 2015)

Well, on the way to the wedding rehearsal, I asked my car occupants to bear with me for a few minutes, as I detoured to the waterfront, and snapped a few images.  Temperature was -17C, wind was blowing 30km/h (gusting to 50+), and by the time I had the tripod legs set up, I was frozen.  Got off three shots, this is probably the best of the lot.  Guess one has to suffer for one's art.


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## bissammn1 (Mar 8, 2015)

Okay


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