Sunday, January 11, 2009

2009 Perigee Moon


Got a shot of the 2009 Perigee 98% of Full Moon, Clouds restricted me from getting a 100% Full Moon on Saturday, still the image I got the night before was still cool and big looking, and boy was it cold. It was so cold that as I was waiting for the Moon to pop up over the clouds I looked behind me and saw a couple of Sun Dogs forming.


Unfortunately, I didn't have my fish eye lens with me, like I always do, sucks, so the images I took are with my telephoto 75-300 mm at the 75 mm setting.


Got my posters back from the printers for my International Year of Astronomy 2009 "Tour The Heavens" show.

They actually turned out pretty good.


My plan is for me to set up a small scope on the front sidewalk like I've done many times before, get people interested in some of the bigger objects like the Moon, planets and then go to the pod with the bigger scope to see the fainter objects. The IYA 2009's goal is to give 10 million people their first look through a telescope in 2009, ie. 100,000 amateur astronomers each showing the heavens to 100 people, will be a lot of fun.



Mike sent me his very first Moon picture. image above. He took it with his camera at 8X digital zoom, well done Mike, let me know if you want a pair of Hanna Montana/ Miley Cyrus 3D glasses.

I'll leave you now with a cool orange cloudscape I took the other night, in animation form of course.


41 comments:

Anonymous said...

I particularly like the sunset picture. I'm a sucker for them. I love your animations.

Mike said...

Hi Bob. Thanks for putting my Moon photo on. I was out one day and didn't have my camera. Now I finally got a picture of it. It looks good on an astronomy blog.

RW said...

Hey Bob is that a igloo?

Awesome photos and great sky shot!

“When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky”~ Buddha

Roger

Max Coutinho said...

Hey Bob!

Oh my God: what a gorgeous moon!! Thank you for sacrificing yourself, out on the cold, in order to offer us this delight...oh, Lord of the Astropics!
These Sun dogs are incredible (specially the second pic): well done :D!

As I read your post I looked at my right and saw you animation of "Cloudy moon and hole"....man....beautiful and mystical!! I loved it! I don't think it has been there for long...has it?

Continuing...

Your posters look incredible!! Did you design them yourself?
I hope the IYA's goal for this year is accomplished *fingers crossed*!

Congratulations, Mike: your very first photo is beautiful!!!

*Sigh* such a romantic orange cloudscape....you are spoiling us, Bob :D! Thank you!

This was an excellent and relaxing post...what a way to start my week :D!

Have a great week, Lord of the Astropics!!

Cheers

Ivanhoe said...

I took a pic of the perigee moon on Sunday, too. It was cloudy all Saturday :o) I've heard on the news that this moon is about 35 k miles closer to Earth than any other month. So I peeked out last night and snapped it.
Have a great week, Bob!

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks Stephanie, I love Sunsets too, I am trying to capture another greenflash in the making for either an animation or video. Animations are too cool, I'm so glad Anna at my only photo gave me the link to them.

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

\m/\m/

Bob Johnson said...

No problem Mike, well done, isn't taking pics of the Moon fun, something mysterious about it.\m/\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Lol, thanks Roger, it does look like an igloo, my wife had reservations about to start with then everybody thought it was cool looking, so I got to put it in the middle of our backyard,lol.\m/\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks max, the animations on the sidebar are new, just put a couple out yesterday. The Moon with a hole I thought was very cool too, just lasted for a couple seconds before the hole clouded over, was lucky to get a shot of it, looks like the Moon is heading for it, like a pool ball into a pocket.\m/\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Hi Ivanhoe, cool you got a shot of it, send me your pic and I will post it for you, hey a free pair of Hanna Montanna/Miley Cyrus glasses are in it for you.\m/\m/

Anne Vis said...

Wonderful initiative and great shots again!

Swubird said...

Bob:

Too bad that you couldn't get any pictures of the full moon. It was fabulous down here. In fact, my Queen called me to come into the dark kitchen to see it from the kitchen window. It was so bright that it lit up the whole place with moonlight. It was the same thing the night before and the night after.

Great looking posters. That's a very nice thing you're doing by letting the local folks look at the heavens.

Good luck, and remember...

Happy stargazing.

Anonymous said...

oh my god...sunset very beautiful...i love sunset

Sherer said...

Bob,

Nice moon pic, too bad you couldnt get the 100%. It looks really cold up there!

Also congrats to mike - great picture! Thanks Bob, always a pleasure.

Jesse

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks a lot Anne.\m/\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks swubird, it has been snowing and cloudy ever since that image was taken, no Full Moon or anything else for that matter. \m/\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks My Journey, I like this one especially because of the bright colors.\m/\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks Jesse, actually warming up, the weather network says +1C by Friday, but they are never right, from -32C forecast Wed to +1C Friday, I don't think so,lol.\m/\m/

Genie said...

Even without your fisheye the sundog shots are awe inspiring! When you see something truly amazing, something that doesn't seem like it should be possible, it makes your skin tighten a little and it makes you stop breathing. You take shots like that all the time.

Wow, I'd give anything to have a tour of the sky in your pod! That's so totally cool. I wonder if your neighbors realize how lucky they are.

Kudos to Mike for his first moon shot!

Oh, and I love your perigee moon. I love seeing a full moon when there's still light out--again, it's like one of those things that just doesn't seem like it should happen. But only because I've never really paid attention before.

Marvin said...

Wasn't that big moon amazing! I got some good shots too. I will need to post them.

Anonymous said...

it is my first time to hear Sun Dogs, thanks to you I am learning a lot. Great moon pictures, and I love the animation. I also took some full moon pictures last Sunday over some clouds, for some reason I love it when some clouds hang over the moon.

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks Genie, hey you feel the same way I do, looking at that Moon was surrealistic, as well as the sundogs, they were just different.

I have shown the neighbors a few celestial delights, they all like the look of the pod, which was a concern to start with, but their relatives and friends really like it, so my wife was happy about it being in the middle of the backyard, she even tells others about it,lol.\m/\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Hey Marvin that's great , if you email me a pic you took I will post it as well, plus you get a free pair of 3D glasses.\m/\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks betchai, send me one of your Moon pics, I will post it too and you get a free pair of 3D glasses.\m/\m/

MYM said...

Wow, such gorgeous photos. Gee, I wish you were my neighbour! That would be cool.

Lynda Lehmann said...

The cloudscape is gorgeous, with or without the animation!

I've never seen real Sun Dogs, only in books and on your blog. I've seen a zillion cirrus clouds though, especially when we're up in Maine. I don't know why they seem to be prevalent there. Maybe because it's a bit colder than Long Island?

Wish I could stop by to get a real glimpse of the sky through your telescope, Bob! That's a great thing to do. You are helping to get people more in touch with nature and the universe!

S-V-H said...

Great post, Bob, as always! Can you give away your secret to me once how do you do the reflection (motion) thing?...LOL..the sunset looks spectacular in the water!

Sue's Daily Photography

Ivanhoe said...

I will. I wish my pic was as pretty as yours, but I'll e-mail it to you soon anyway :o)

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks Drowsey Monkey, that would be cool being your neighbour, we could talk about blogging and whatnot,lol.\m/\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks Lynda, cool you saw a Sundog here, they are very cool in person, you need real cold weather though, which sucks, so it seems you are always shivering when your looking at them,lol.\m/\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks Susanne, just go to the link below, upload your regular image.

Go to animations, click on reflecting water, then below the animation you can save and or host your animation.

If you click on host it will take you to another hosting site and give you a html code to post on your blog, very cool.\m/\m/

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

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks Ivanhoe, I will post it when I get it, just email me your addy and I will get a free pair of 3D glasses out to you.\m/\m/

myonlyphoto said...

Hey Bob your pics are so cool, I continue to admire your gif images. Wow that moon is so big.

You know I was prepared, I brought my camera with me, and sharks, calling for snow.

Yes we experiencing cold too here, but I wouldn't know as I am home all the time.

Excellent post as always.

Anna :)

myonlyphoto said...

BTW I wish I lived close by, I could use a tour of the universe...

No I will not be going to Science Centre yet, may be next year.

Anna :)

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks Anna, I owe you so much for showing me the site for the animations, I have put it to good use,lol. Too bad you missed the Full Moon, I see you are getting a lot of snow as well, makes it tough to get outside and view the heavens, to bad about the Science Centre, I'd be hanging out there a lot if I lived there,lol.\m/\m/

kml said...

I so wish I was your neighbor! You would probably have to kick me out because I was being such a telescope-hog, though. Sounds like fun!

myonlyphoto said...

Hey hey Bob, don't mention lol, and yes you did put it into good use. But Bob, how about the first visits to my blog, and the 3D glasses - I think you paid your dues long time ago, lol.

Yes I cannot wait to explore more sky. I think with Matthew a bit older it will be easier.

I remember long time ago when first time visited Science Centre in the early 90s, I fell in love with the perpetual machine, lol.
Scinece is so cool, and I know you agree with me.

Anna :)

myonlyphoto said...

...and there you go I cannot even spell science right, lol :)

Bob Johnson said...

Lol, Kathy, you're too funny.

Bob Johnson said...

Lol Anna, science is very cool.

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks Julie, much appreciated.