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| Watch crescent moon seemingly touch the Pleiades tonight April 08, 2008 There will be a rare astronomical pairing tonight at twilight when the crescent moon and the beautiful star cluster known as the Pleiades (also known as the Seven Sisters) appear almost close enough to touch just above the western horizon. The moon and Pleiades actually pass one another in the sky fairly regularly. But they usually don’t look like they are close together, and it typically doesn’t happen when the moon is a crescent, say astronomers. “From Southern California, the Sun sets around 7:20 p.m., so you’ll start getting good views by around 8 p.m. At the time, the crescent moon will appear just above and slightly to the right of the Pleiades, with the moon’s lit crescent being closest to the cluster and the cusps pointing up and away,” says Rich Talcott, a senior editor at Astronomy.com. “The nearest the stars of the Pleiades will be less than one moon diameter away. “As the evening progresses, the moon will slide up and to the left relative to the cluster’s stars, and move slightly farther away. Still, by the time they set near 11 p.m., binoculars will still nicely frame the pair.” READERS are urged to photograph the event and send us .jpegs. The person who sends the best image will receive a copy of the beautiful book “Beyond: Visions of the Interplanetary Probes” by Michael Benson. Send your pictures to grobbins"AT"ocregister.com and please include your name and hometown.  |
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