Two Crescents Meet

The Moon and Venus in Conjunction
Sketch and Details by Frank McCabe

Moon and Venus on the Morning of April 22, 2009

Before retiring for the evening I set my alarm clock to awaken at 4:30 am local time. I was not happy to see the sky heavily overcast but I did noticed that the sky to the east was clear from the horizon to about 12° up. Traveling due east for me would after 25 miles take you to the southern tip of Lake Michigan in Indiana. I could tell that this heavy cloud cover rolled in from the west while I slept but was not yet over the lake. I grabbed a pair of 8×50 binoculars and my sketching materials and climbed out a bedroom window onto the roof of my house to sketch. Originally I was hoping to use a telescope. At 5:00 am local time I could see both the waning crescent moon and Venus about 7° above the horizon. I noted the position of Venus relative to the moon and began sketching. Within 15 minutes the moon disappeared into the cloud layers followed by Venus and the view was over at about 5:16 am. The sky eventually cleared in the morning but the Lunar /Venus event was over by then.

Sketching:

For this sketch I used: black Strathmore 400 Artagain paper, 10″x 11″, white and black Conte’ pastel pencils and a blending stump. Brightness was slightly decreased after scanning.

8 x 50mm binoculars
Date: 4-22-2009 10:00-10:16 UT
Temperature: 1°C (34°F)
mostly cloudy, breezy
Seeing: Below Average
Co longitude: 241.6°
Lunation: 26.75 days
Illumination: 9 %

Frank McCabe