Saturday evening, June 27, 2009, Saturn and the Moon had another close encounter. This was much nearer than the one
Thursday evening, and this time, Saturn was to the upper right of the moon.
The sky was nice and clear tonight, but it was difficult to get both the Moon and Saturn exposed properly, as the difference in brightness was so great. I got a nice picture of the moon, however.
There was an interesting convergence of stars and planets Thursday evening, with Saturn and the Moon approaching the edges of the constellation Leo. Saturn was to the upper left of Leo and the Moon was to the lower right.
It was a tough night for astrophotography, as there was a great deal of sky glare from the recently set sun, and there was considerable haze. I got a couple of shots that are worth showing, however.
Most people are unaware, but there's a comet in our neighborhood.
Comet Lulin made its closest approach to Earth yesterday, February 24, 2009. While only viewable unaided in very dark skies, it was (and still is) viewable with binoculars.
The wife and I decided to head out into the Texas Hill Country to see if we could find it, and maybe grab a picture or two. We went west on RR1431 until we found a spot off the road about ten miles east of Marble Falls, Texas.
