Harvest Moon and Jupiter

Gator Bait

 
I'm sure most have heard about tonights full moon. The Harvest Moon doesn't coincide with the autumnal equinox very often. The last time was 1991 and will not happen again till 2029.


Just below the moon and slightly to the right is Jupiter and four of its brightest moons. Jupiter is as close to the Earth as it gets and will not be this bright again till 2022. I could not see the moons with the naked eye. I believe the object between Jupiter and the Moon is Uranus but would not bet my last dollar on it. It was not twinkling so I am fairly sure that is what it is. Planets do not twinkle in the night sky, they are to close, only the distant stars and other objects outside our solar system twinkle.


Venus was up earlier but I think it had passed below the western horizon behind the clouds that were making these pictures difficult to take. I took these between 8:00 and 8:30 this evening, then the clouds and the bugs got to me. There wasn't a puff of air and the temperature was about 84º and muggy.

Have a great night All,

Blair

 

Little Steven

Blair,

Man I thought the harvest moon was in October.

Steve

cookn biker

Thanks Blair!! I'm watching also.

Fluffyb

Very cool info Blair, it sure is beautiful here in the desert. Too much dust in the air from our wind today to see the moons.

Gator Bait

 
I think it snuck up on us this year Steven, maybe the Canadian Moon is on a different schedule.

HERE is one of many articles on line in the news.

Blair

 

Gator Bait

 
I thought you would be Molly, have a good night.

Blair

 

Gator Bait

 
Hi Teresa,

I'm am so jealous! To be in the desert tonight would be beautiful. About 6 years ago a friend of mine and I were traveling cross country headed for Santa Barbara, CA. in an old pick up truck. We were headed west on I-40 and stopped at the last rest area in New Mexico to stretch our legs. It was June and the night of the full moon. That rest stop is in the middle of the desert and there are no city lights anywhere near by to spoil the beauty of it. I have never witnessed a more beautiful landscape made up of so many shades of the color purple. It was just amazing. Every mountain range was a different color of purple, it seamed like every cactus was a shade all it's own, it was truly spectacular. I walked as far back into the desert as I could to get away from the lights and noise of the high way and would have liked to have spent the whole night there to watch the sun come up in the morning. I hope I can get back to the desert again, it is a most interesting place.

Have a great night,

Blair

 

Fluffyb

Blair,

We love it here. We moved from L.A. 3 years ago and have not regretted one minute. Usually the the sky is so clear and beautiful. But we had some pretty intense winds today, that although they are cooling our temps, kicked up a bunch of dust. Kitties are going nuts between the moon & the wind. Hope you get here again too, stop by for some eggin!

Gator Bait

 
That same trip where we had such a great full moon in New Mexico we came back on I-10 and came through the San Gorgonio Pass. LOL, I have an idea of what your winds can be like. Small wonder they built the wind farm there. We stopped at a rest area there as well and the winds were so strong if we weren't careful they would have cleaned everything out of the truck in a heart beat. :laugh:

Sounds like the kittens are having fun. I would love to get back out that way and if I do would love to stop and say Hi.

Blair

 

Beli

Blair, Just looking at it outside...100.0% full this moment...so my computer gadget says....tks for remembering!!

elzbth

Absolutely awesome!! I was late getting home - I actually saw today's sunset as I was driving due west (to the casinos in Mississippi), and then the moon as I was driving due east on the way home. I thought to myself at the time - "wonder if Gator Bait captured either of these striking wonders"....Thanks for posting!

Gator Bait

 
Our sunset wasn't very interesting Elizabeth
but I'm happy you enjoyed these, thanks.

Blair

 

Gator Bait

 
Hi Beli, I'm glad you got out to see it. I bet it was beautiful from your little corner of Paradise in the mountains.

Blair

 

Judy Mayberry

A harvest moon is when the full moon coincides with the autumnal equinox, which is Wednesday, Sept. 22nd. Hasn't happened in 19 years.

Village Idiot

Great show. Thanks, Gator!

I looked at it through binoculars, and saw a moon at 8:00 position, but I was so shaky I couldn't get a good look at it.

Mainegg

I though of you when I saw it last night Blair I was hoping you and your cameras would be out thanks for sharing!

Gator Bait

 
Good Morning Gary,

Sounds like we were looking up at about the same time. I am fortunate to be able to mount my camera on my big spotting scope and have a 1500mm lens that is surprisingly sharp. I use a good heavy tripod and cable release to reduce any vibrations.

These images I copied from a FREE planetarium program called Stellarium. This is great software and it let me confirm what I was seeing in a minutes time, pretty cool! This would be a cool program on a lap top that I could take outside with me.

This is the relative position of the moon and the planets when I photographed them last night. I could not get this as a photograph with the long lens I was using.


When I zoomed in on Jupiter and saw the arrangement of the moons I knew what I was looking at, again pretty cool. :cheer:


Blair

 

Gator Bait

 
You and Molly were in my thoughts last night when I went out to take a few pictures. I know you both like the full moons as do I. It would have been a great night to have been sailing Frenchman's or Blue Hill Bay on about a 30' sloop. I would have been happier photographing it from the top of Cadillac on MDI, I bet it was cooler and fewer bugs and what a view!

Blair

 

Florida Grillin Girl

Awesome. I saw it last night while driving home. There were some scattered clouds in front of it and it looked like Halloween for a minute. Beautiful with the reflection of it over the water.

eenie meenie

Blair, thanks for the beautiful harvest moon photograph. I thought of you when NPR had a segment on the harvest moon and Jupiter this past week!

Gator Bait

 
Thanks Faith, we had similar scattered clouds here. I was sort of happy they shortened my BugFest cause I was the main course.

Blair

 

Gator Bait

 
My pleasure Rebecca, I'm glad you like it. I went out much later to see if the clouds had improved any and it was still hazy so I called it a night. The only problem with photographing the moon is that it looks suspiciously similar to the last time I photographed it! December 21st if the skies are clear we are going to have a total lunar eclipse. I have never tried photographing one so that should be fun, at least the weather should be cooler. :cheer:

Blair