See it! Last night’s young moon, Venus, Mercury

Moon, Venus (middle), Mercury on March 18, 2018, via Dustin Guy in Seattle, Washington. Canon SX 530 – 4 second exposure at ISO 100.

The young moon has returned to the evening sky and is sweeping past two planets in the west after sunset. The planets are the sky’s brightest, Venus, and the most elusive, Mercury. Watch for them in the west on Monday and Tuesday evenings, too! Thanks to all in the EarthSky community who contributed photos. We got dozens of beauties and wish we had the means to post them all.

By the way, I’ve placed these photos on this page in descending order, time-wise, starting with those in the westernmost U.S. and moving backwards, toward the east. You can notice the change in the moon’s position with respect to the planets. That motion, of course, is due to the moon’s actual motion in orbit around Earth.

Moon, Venus (middle), Mercury by Mike Morrison in Seattle, Washington. He’s looking across Puget sound toward Olympic mountains. “The peak right below the moon is called The Brothers,” he wrote.

Moon, Venus, Mercury on March 18, 2018 from Richard Hasbrouck in Las Truchas, New Mexico. He wrote “It snowed hard almost all day, with strong winds. I accepted we’d be seeing ‘nada’ tonight. Then around sunset it started clearing, and all 3 objects became visible. The silhouettes of the cloud banks can be seen at the bottom of the image. A happy surprise after a wild-weather day.” Canon EOS 5DSR, Canon 24-105 mm lens @ 105 mm, hand held
ISO 4000, f/4, 1/10 sec, -2 Exp. Comp, Camera RAW.

Moon, Venus, Mercury on March 18, 2018 from Hector Barrios in Hermosillo, Mexico. Even city lights couldn’t outshine them. Canon t6, 70-250mm.

Moon, Venus, Mercury on March 18, 218, via Scarlet Bucket in Oxon Hill, Maryland. This photo is overlooking Washington Harbor. Canon 5d Mark iv + 16-35mm.

Moon, Venus (middle), Mercury on March 18, 2018 from Michael Holland in Lakeland, Florida. Canon T5 100 mm lens 3 second exposure f/11 ISO 200.

Moon, Venus (middle), Mercury on March 18 from Annie Lewis, near Madrid, Spain.

Moon, Venus (middle), Mercury on March 18 from Mercè Monzonis in Barcelona, Spain. Nikon D7000, VR 70-30mm, Focal distance 116 mm, F 5.6, speed 1/8 sec, ISO 200.

The moon is sweeping past Venus and Mercury. Watch for them! Read more.

Bottom line: Photos from the EarthSky community of the young moon and planets Venus and Mercury on March 18, 2018.

from EarthSky http://ift.tt/2HKHGVL

Moon, Venus (middle), Mercury on March 18, 2018, via Dustin Guy in Seattle, Washington. Canon SX 530 – 4 second exposure at ISO 100.

The young moon has returned to the evening sky and is sweeping past two planets in the west after sunset. The planets are the sky’s brightest, Venus, and the most elusive, Mercury. Watch for them in the west on Monday and Tuesday evenings, too! Thanks to all in the EarthSky community who contributed photos. We got dozens of beauties and wish we had the means to post them all.

By the way, I’ve placed these photos on this page in descending order, time-wise, starting with those in the westernmost U.S. and moving backwards, toward the east. You can notice the change in the moon’s position with respect to the planets. That motion, of course, is due to the moon’s actual motion in orbit around Earth.

Moon, Venus (middle), Mercury by Mike Morrison in Seattle, Washington. He’s looking across Puget sound toward Olympic mountains. “The peak right below the moon is called The Brothers,” he wrote.

Moon, Venus, Mercury on March 18, 2018 from Richard Hasbrouck in Las Truchas, New Mexico. He wrote “It snowed hard almost all day, with strong winds. I accepted we’d be seeing ‘nada’ tonight. Then around sunset it started clearing, and all 3 objects became visible. The silhouettes of the cloud banks can be seen at the bottom of the image. A happy surprise after a wild-weather day.” Canon EOS 5DSR, Canon 24-105 mm lens @ 105 mm, hand held
ISO 4000, f/4, 1/10 sec, -2 Exp. Comp, Camera RAW.

Moon, Venus, Mercury on March 18, 2018 from Hector Barrios in Hermosillo, Mexico. Even city lights couldn’t outshine them. Canon t6, 70-250mm.

Moon, Venus, Mercury on March 18, 218, via Scarlet Bucket in Oxon Hill, Maryland. This photo is overlooking Washington Harbor. Canon 5d Mark iv + 16-35mm.

Moon, Venus (middle), Mercury on March 18, 2018 from Michael Holland in Lakeland, Florida. Canon T5 100 mm lens 3 second exposure f/11 ISO 200.

Moon, Venus (middle), Mercury on March 18 from Annie Lewis, near Madrid, Spain.

Moon, Venus (middle), Mercury on March 18 from Mercè Monzonis in Barcelona, Spain. Nikon D7000, VR 70-30mm, Focal distance 116 mm, F 5.6, speed 1/8 sec, ISO 200.

The moon is sweeping past Venus and Mercury. Watch for them! Read more.

Bottom line: Photos from the EarthSky community of the young moon and planets Venus and Mercury on March 18, 2018.

from EarthSky http://ift.tt/2HKHGVL