Almost occultation of Aldebaran

Another miss for 23-Dec-2015. Occultation seen from Europe but not from Israel. This time I just took 4 different photos and put them together to demonstrate the fast movemet of the moon

Almost occultation of Aldebaran 23-Dec-2015

It was very near, but no occultation from my place. After five days of rains I almost forgot from this event but as I looked at the moon I noticed a bright star so close to it. I knew there wont be an occultation from my place but I forgot that it will be that close.

So I took my camera (Canon SX50 HS) out and this is how it was 2030 (UTC) about 45' apart (from edge of moon). Taking both objects in one shot is not simple as the moon is about 10000 brighter. Aldebaran is in the lower left

Moon and Aldebaran 2015-10-29

About an hour later the moon gets nearer (The moon moves, Aldebaran is fixed) and as a bonus a bird fly in front of the moon) 

Moon and Aldebaran 2015-10-29

After another 45 minutes the moon is really close. So close that I can't see Aldebaran with the naked eyes anymore and needs binoculars. However the camera sees it perfectly and just 30 minutes more to the closest point.

Moon and Aldebaran 2015-10-29

As it turned out, a huge cloud came and rain again so no chance for more photos, so good night (0030 here) until the next chance...

Planets conjunction 09-Oct-2015

The planets are aligned very nicely this morning (09-Oct-2015) with the crescent old moon in the East. Venus and Jupiter (which starred earlier this year) together with Mars in the Leo constellation. You can almost draw a straight line between the planets as they are all lay on the same plane the ecliptic.

This month events are (I added illustrations for event with more than 2 celestial objects)
9-Oct-2015 - Venus Old Moon Mars and Jupiter
17-18/Oct - Jupiter and Mars less the 30' apart (less than a full moon width)
27-28/Oct - Jupiter Venus and Mars creates a close traingle
3/Nov - Venus and Mars together
7/Nov - Jupiter, the old Moon Venus and Mars




7-Nov-2015
Here is an illustration

The old Moon, Jupiter Mars and Venus 7-Nov-2015 simulation

27-Oct-2015
Here is an illustration

Jupiter Mars and Venus 27-Oct-2015 simulation

9-Oct-2015

Planets' conjunction 09/10/2015

This is an illustration of the View from Israel. US watchers will see the moon further down and closer to Mars.

The brightest planet is Venus and the second one is Jupiter. Mars is quite dim but you will able to see its red tint in the photos. Mercury rises as well but it is very low and dim so you need a dark place with no obstructions in order to see it.

Planets' conjunction 09/10/2015

 And here is a wider photo in which the entire Leo constellation is visible.  I used Canon 700d with 28-80 lens and was able to capture the entire LEO group (Leo-B Denebolla is at the bottom left)

 This photo is not related but I wanted to see if my knew wide Lens can capture the entire winter hexagon. It can! From Sirius through Rigel and to Castor and even Capella is there, but this is a matter for another post