2015 Nov 05 planets
Venus shines bright in the time just before the light of dawn to the south east, coming within 1 degree of faint Mars which lies far from us in its orbit, appearing much further away, while Jupiter hangs above them. The moon draws closer to the triad as it fades the next few days …
Venus shines bright at the lower left, with Mars just to its left – Jupiter shines above them, and the star Regulus shines equidistant between Jupiter and the waning quarter Moon
Venus shines brightest in the lower left of this frame, with Mars very close to it (slight red color) – Jupiter above
20150630 venus and jupiter conjuction
closest appearance
for venus and jupiter this time around the sun
tonight at under 1/2 degree separation from our vantage on earth
the sun set leaving an orange, then pink-tinted sky, with the nearly full moon low in the east
the wind was still and the heat from the day was still rising from the grass-covered hills
the coyotes howled across the valleys as twilight melted away the last light
and the owls at the top of the hill made an appearance together, hooting back and forth
between themselves and sometimes the featherless hooter below
the crickets in the background sang loudly, now that the winds had nothing to say
and as the sky darkened, the lights of the sky and the city glowed
above and below Mount Tamalpais
as the fog crept from the sea into the valleys below it all
20150629 venus and jupiter conjuction one day away
venus and jupiter are now one day away from appearing less than 1 degree apart in the sky looking to the west just after sunset (occurs on tuesday june 30th) – and wednesday is a full moon. tonight just to the right of the moon, just above scorpio (to the south after dusk) is saturn as well. the bright star antares (17th brightest in the sky), part of the scorpio constellation, glows red compared to the other stars – which helps locate the constellation (almost due south after sunset). tomorrow night (june 30) saturn will remain above scorpio but well right of the moon.
the owls were moving around early tonight and very active, and their eyes seem to shine with vigor in the dim evening light. a coyote popped it’s head up on the other side of a young bull this evening, thinking it was unseen, sending the young bull in a run right towards and past me (which was a little intense). a few moments later the coyote’s head popped up again to look at me, as if it was checking in to see how its joke worked out.
good one coyote.
Right to Left: Mount Tamalpais, Jupiter, and Venus (and a faint Regulus to the left)
20150621 happy summer solstice / moon, venus, and jupiter
happy solstice, longest day of the year! literally, not figuratively – as in my mind i’ve had MUCH longer days this year.
it was a beautiful night up in the hills, soft light, light winds, and the smell of tar weed pervading the air. as darkness crept in the crickets provided a soundtrack to my wander. venus and jupiter grow closer still, and in the pictures below from tonight you can see the moon on the left, the star regulus in the constellation leo faintly visible next to the right, followed by the planets jupiter and venus. the mountain in the distance is mt tamalpais. quite a sight.
one from last night …
20150618 venus, jupiter and waxing moon
The countdown is on for the end of June when Jupiter and Venus come within about 1 degree of each during their conjuction! Look outside after dusk to the West to see them. Venus appears larger and brighter on the right. Not shown in the photo is Regulus, part of the Leo constellation – it can be seen to the left of Jupiter, almost forming a line. The next few nights will provide us with great views with the moon appearing closer to the two planets. Get out and look!
From left to right: Mt Tam, Jupiter, Venus, waxing Moon
2015 Jan 10 – venus and mercury less than 1 degree apart
venus and mercury within 1 degree of each other Jan 10 2015
Earlier in the week, Jupiter was right by the almost full moon ….
jupiter by almost full moon Jan 7 2015
ferry point herring run
Evidently I was late to the party Sunday, but for almost two weeks there was a huge herring run at Ferry Point on Pt. Richmond. It attracted large numbers of gulls (in the thousands) – including some rare species – as well as sea lions, seals, other shore birds and humans with their cameras and fishing boats. I was a day too late! The fish come in every year to reproduce and lay their eggs. Many end up as dinner for the creatures listed above.
Despite being late for the climax, I was however able to see some of the left-over roe (eggs) that hadn’t been eaten and were attached to sea weed and other vegetation exposed at the low tide when I was there. I’ll have to wait for next year to catch the action.
herring roe
herring roe
In Europe these fish are known as “silver of the sea” because of their long-standing role in the economies of many cultures there, and they continue to be a staple source of food that humans harvest from the sea and many animals depend upon them as part of their survival.
As I left I saw a beautiful quarter-moon with Jupiter shining right by it.
quarter moon and jupiter
moon and jupiter conjuction
Last night the waxing moon, almost full, was in close conjunction (less than one degree) with Jupiter (seen bottom right of photo as a small spec of light).
feralzach 