--- "Barney B." <aaah@sisna.com> wrote:
If you've got a clear view to the west, step outside and check out the moon.
I spent a few minutes with at 8:30pm on Friday night with 8x35 binos at the high Aves park off 11th Ave - intending to try to see my "newest" Moon yet. It was a pretty dramatic sliver - but easily missed with the naked-eye if you were not specifically looking for it - at ~ alt 18, az 290. My lunar spreadsheet is showing the lunar colongitude at 8:00pm (2:00 UTC) at ~ E78 lunar longitude and a lunar age of ~ 1.0 lunar days - well 0.99 lunar days. In 8x35 binos, the major far eastern mares were all visible breaking a delicate waxing crescent, i.e. Mare Humboldtianum (E81), Mare Marginis (E86), Mare Smythii (E87) and the portion of Mare Australe (E93) that wraps around the near side. 35 binos do not have enough apeture to bring out the craters. It was a nice introduction to a long clear night with the Leo Galaxy Group overhead. - Canopus56 P.S. - Although I don't have a photo, here's one by Roger Sinnott that conveys the naked-eye view of what was seen on Friday night. http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/moon/article_1421_1.asp __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com