Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Moon, Saturn and Regulus Conjunction



Conjunctions are our friends. Got some cool shots of the Moon, Saturn and Regulus conjunction Sunday June 8th. about an hour after Sunset. The image above shows Saturn to the top left of the Moon and Regulus off the top right of the Moon. The image below is a shot of the gathering as well as a Lunar Corona, Lunar Coronas are caused by the bright Moonlight reflecting and refracting of ice crystals in high thin clouds.



The image below is a picture of the conjunction with Mars off to the far right


I also took a wide angle shot below to show you what you would have seen if you had been walking west down your street to give you an idea how it would look to the naked eye.


This coming June 30th. Mars will be joining Saturn and Regulus, Mars will retrograde to settle just off the top right of Regulus for the too cool trio conjunction of Saturn, Regulus and Mars just in time for July 1st and 4th fireworks celebrations, so when you are out enjoying the fireworks and your significant other says " Wow aren't these fireworks great" you having the knowledge gained by reading this blog can reply " Yes they are, but I am also enjoying the celestial conjunction of Saturn, Mars and Regulus over here in the western quadrant of the celestial sphere" to which your significant other will reply ".......Kiss me you fool!" see, I got your back. Also this coming 5 and 6th. of July the Moon will join the gathering. July 5th. the Moon will be just below Regulus and Mars will have moved to almost the center of Saturn and Regulus, July 6th. the Moon will be just off the left of Saturn.




Saw the above animated gif at the Mars Phoenix Lander's web site and just had to have it on my blog. It shows the new sprinkling method they have developed to deliver the Martian soil samples to the various labs for analysis. The previous method of scoop and drop wasn't working, for some reason the soil is clumping and not going through the lab's protective screen, they've found by shaking the scoop a little they can sprinkle smaller samples onto the screen and through to the lab. The animated gif above shows the scoop delivering a sample to the Microscopy, Electrochemistry and Conductivity Analyzer or MECA for short. Seems to be working better. As of today Scientists do not know the reason why the soil is clumping, could be ice or static electricity holding it together, once they get a good sample into the labs we should get some answers, very exciting stuff, by the way the above gif is comprised of 4 images over a 20 minute time frame.

I'll leave you now with an animated gif of a cool 4 percent crescent Moon in clouds.

40 comments:

Marvin said...

Yay! I like moonblogb.jpeg the best, with the fireworks. What an excellent photographer you are.

After I save a bit more, I will acquire a new camera so I can emulate your beautiful work.

RW said...

Great conjunction shots and good info as always, I am really digging GIF of the crescent moon wow! I wish GIMP had that effect but it has a wave like effect like a stone plopped into the water only good for certain apps.
Well done my friend!!

Anonymous said...

Maybe the soil is clumping because it is wet? Oh my!!

Or not.

Nice shots as usual of something I would not have noticed or looked for without your guidance.

Happy WW! My photo this week is again reptilian in nature.

MYM said...

Your photos never cease to amaze me bob.

Hey, and thanks for that great pick-up line re the fireworks, I just may try that out ;) I'm sure I'll be seeing fireworks, oh yeah.

Peter said...

Hi! The frames give great depth to the unique and beautiful images, as well as highlighting the talent of this celestial artist. I'll have to keep my eyes on you! - unknown critic from Downunder.

Take Care,
Peter

Bob Johnson said...

Lol Marvin, I have a complex naming system, it's called what I think of at the time, I have 9,000 pics like that, really must do something about that.\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks Roger, gifs are our friends too. the program is below, and it is free, try it out.\m/

http://www.blibs.com/editor/

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks Will, I'm hoping it's water, looks like it to me, oh and I love reptiles,lol. \m/

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks drowsey, let me know how it works for you at your next fireworks, haven't had too much success, my wife tells me to keep it short, not get into to much detail,lol.\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks Peter, frames, conjunctions and gifs are my friends,lol \m/

Max Coutinho said...

Hey Bob!

Magnificent photos adorned with splendid frames, well done :D!
The lunar corona is gorgeous!!! It reminds me of a thing or two....lol

"yes they are, but I am also enjoying the celestial conjunction of Saturn, Mars and Regulus over here in the western quadrant of the celestial sphere" - My babe would sure be impressed by these words, however his reaction would be more like

"Wow, that's interesting...now....Kiss me you fool!" LOL LOL....

"see, I got your back" - without a doubt, mate! :D

I like this MECA concept, very interesting! Now, it is odd how the sample clumps...since I am such an ignorant in these matters, I have a question: what would it mean if static electricity would be the cause for the clumping?

The 4% moon photo is absolutely stunning, Bob!! As you know, I love moons; and this one is one of your best! :D

Have a great rest of the week!

Cheers

Ruth said...

Gorgeous, glorious, marvelous!

And you are a thoughtful guy! Helping us out with our S.O.s. Oh wait, my S.O. comes here too, so we'll be pulling this on each other . . .

Nature Nut /JJ Loch said...

Beautiful conjunction shots, Bob!!! I can't figure out how I was missing so much before. You enlighten me with each great post. Have I told you how INTERESTING you are as a blogger. WOOT!!!

I only have four more photos to snap and my first project is completed. Woot!!!

Hugs, JJ

Swubird said...

Bob:

Cool GIF and double cool animation. The animation really brings the project to life.

Nice frames too. The make your images really stand out.

Weird orbit - first this way, then that way, then back again. Imagine what the ancient astronomers thought when they first tracked that crooked line. It must have really confused them. I mean, we live in the 21st century and it probably baffles most people.

Still waiting for a little Martian water!!!

Happy stargazing.

Bob Johnson said...

Lol, thanks max, The fact that it might be static electricity,is some people think it might discharge and in one way or another damage sensitive equipment, they figure it might have got charged in the landing.

I personally don't think the clumping is caused from static, we know from our Moon involvement the Moons surface dust clung to the Astronauts, lots of static, yet no one ever mentioned clumps of anything. \m/\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Lol, hey let me know if the line works for you, anyone of you,lol.\m/\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Right back at ya with the woot,lol, only 4 more pictures, how exciting!!\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks swubird, hey the way the orbits went drove them crazy, didn't know about the fact a planet was even a planet but that also one might be closer to the Earth therfore able to lap a planet further out in a slower orbit around the Sun, I guess that's why they called them planets, wanderers,lol \m/

Oswegan said...

Great info and image Bob. I would have looked into the sky and said, "hmm, moon."

Bob Johnson said...

Lol oswegan, well you'd be part right, Moon is still very cool all by itself, the planets,stars and conjunctions are just icing on the cake.\m/\m/

Don said...

You are very good at picking out interesting shots and then explaining them in layperson's terms. Thanks for the info. I especially am drawn to the Martian soil experiments.

Your moon conjunction shots are stunning!

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks Don, apparently they now have a lab full of soil so we will see what happens in the next few days.\m/

Max Coutinho said...

Bob,

Now, I get it: thank you :D!

That could be, in fact, a problem if the static damages the equipment! It could jeopardise the whole mission, right? *nodding*...

I hear you on the clumping!

Thanks for the explanation, my friend :D!

Cheers

Curious Servant said...

What a fun blog!

I'm bookmarking it so I can find my way back.

Bob Johnson said...

No prob Max.:D :-D \m/\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks curious servant, glad you like the blog, thanks for dropping by. :D :-D \m/

RW said...

Thanks for the link Bob!

Anonymous said...

Do you make those animated GIF files? They're all so beautiful!! I love the water! As always, I enjoyed the read and the photos. As always, some of that space talk went a little over my head. lol. ;)

Bob Johnson said...

No problem Roger, need any help making them work just ask.\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks Mae, the program for the gif is at

http://www.lunapic.com/editor/

You upload a picture to their site, then you choose any one of quite a few effects, I choose the animation tab then reflecting water, makes the gif, then you have to have it hosted at a different site to place on your site, they have links for that, go to them, they give you a HTML code then you can add to your site.\m/

Anonymous said...

So when my wife says " Wow aren't these fireworks great"? all I have to do is reply "Yes they are, but I am also enjoying the celestial conjunction of Saturn, Mars and Regulus over here in the western quadrant of the celestial sphere"? and you promise she will reply ".......Kiss me you fool!"??? Works for me my man. Bob maybe should put up a dear Bob column in your blog as well LOL.
I also see your blog is beginning to look like an art gallery with all these frames....talk about classy!
Great post my man...keep it up.
~JD
PS I want to see you over at the MW Site as well....remember?...that other site for gifted writers such as yourself. Check out the new membership.

Sherer said...

Wow aren't these fireworks great" you having the knowledge gained by reading this blog can reply " Yes they are, but I am also enjoying the celestial conjunction of Saturn, Mars and Regulus over here in the western quadrant of the celestial sphere" to which your significant other will reply ".......Kiss me you fool!" see, I got your back. LOL! THat was great. Pure Comedy! - and I will try and use that!

Bob Johnson said...

Lol JD, I'll think about the Dear Bob column, hey I'm working on a post for MW.\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks sherer,glad you liked it best of luck hope it works,lol

1st Lady said...

The reflection of the moon on the water there is just hypnotising. Just wonderful. :)

kml said...

It is so amazing that we can do all this stuff on Mars from here - I swear those NASA dudes are aliens!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing the link, but argg it seems to be offline... Does anybody have a mirror or another source? Please reply to my message if you do!

I would appreciate if a staff member here at blackholesandastrostuff.blogspot.com could repost it.

Thanks,
John

Dubai escorts said...

Thanks so much for having written the article. This was rather interesting to understand what exactly you're saying, but in common I won't match with your opinion as I have got several thoughts in my head. I suppose that it can be absolutely unacceptable to do in such a way if we're relating to the real life. Anyway, I wouldn't go after any of the advice you're providing.

Escort Australia said...

Thanks so much for having written the article. This was nice to examine what namely you are saying, nevertheless in general I can't consent with you as I have got particular ideas in my head. I consider that it can be absolutely inadmissible to do this way if we're about the real life. Anyway, I would not pursue any of the recommendation you are giving.

Steel building said...

Thank you for having written the post. It was quite okay to interpret what you are up to, yet in general I cannot have the same opinion with you as I have various thoughts on my mind. I believe that it's absolutely unacceptable to do like this provided that we're relating to real life. Anyway, I would not pursue any of the suggesting you're supplying.