Daylight viewing a croissant moon...

[ewomack]

The moon came into my view while driving yesterday, right in the middle of the day. Since I had never tried daytime viewing before, I thought why not head home and try the binoculars in sunlight? Thankfully, the sun sat well across the sky, so I didn't have to worry about any possible accidents. The moon still looked pretty impressive bathed in light.

The photos, taken with a mobile phone camera (I have not invested in astrophotography equipment at this time), turned out at least okay. This one really reminded me of what I saw through the binoculars, except the details looked sharper.

Daytime viewing was pretty nice. If only there was more to see when the sun dominates the sky.

[chris_g]

Wow, awesome detail for the timeframe, you can actually make out some craters. What cell phone did you use and what's the magnification of the binoculars?

There for sharing!

[Lady Fraktor]

I used to do this with the nieces and nephews, a bit of daylight lunar viewing with the telescope.
They really enjoyed it.

[Ylem]

Nice capture

[DeanD]

Well done! You might be surprised to know that you can see the brighter planets in the daytime with binos too: Venus, Mercury (when they are well away from the sun), Jupiter and Mars (when it is a bit closer to Earth). Easiest to see them when they are near the moon- for a reference spot. I have even had Year 1 students (6 years old) say they could see a star (naked eye) near the moon (Venus in this case!). You can always block the sun out by observing from the shadow of a building. I can remember seeing Comet McNaught in the daytime by doing that.

An observing challenge for you!

If you haven't done so already, grab a copy of Stellarium (https://stellarium.org ) so you can plan ahead (it is freeware, and an excellent planetarium programme.

All the best,

Dean

[Makuser]

Hi Ed. A very nice crescent moon image in daylight with your mobile phone camera. And Mares Crisium and Fecunditatis are readily visible in your capture. Thanks for sharing this with us on here Ed and keep looking up.

[helicon]

Nice work Ed.

[gregl]

Well done. Many folks outside of astronomy don't realize that you can see more than the sun during daylight. I think the moon looks nice against the blue sky. Your photo reveals that well.

[Bigzmey]

Well done Ed! Daytime observing could be rewarding. Some of the best views of Venus and Jupiter I got during daytime (or rather evening but with still blue sky).

[ewomack]

I really appreciate the comments and feedback, everyone! It sounds like I need to explore daytime viewing even more - viewing planets in the daytime sounds more than intriguing.

Wow, awesome detail for the timeframe, you can actually make out some craters. What cell phone did you use and what's the magnification of the binoculars?

There for sharing!

Thank you! I have a probably soon-to-be-obsolete iPhone SE and 25x70 Celestron Skymaster binoculars. I remember having to mess with the brightness on the mobile camera a little bit to keep it from washing out, but not nearly as much as with night photos.

[helicon]

I should add to my post above - very interesting daytime observation. Thanks for pointing it out and perhaps inspiring others to do the same Ed. Also, congrats on winning the VROD for the day!

[chris_g]

I really appreciate the comments and feedback, everyone! It sounds like I need to explore daytime viewing even more - viewing planets in the daytime sounds more than intriguing.

Wow, awesome detail for the timeframe, you can actually make out some craters. What cell phone did you use and what's the magnification of the binoculars?

There for sharing!

Thank you! I have a probably soon-to-be-obsolete iPhone SE and 25x70 Celestron Skymaster binoculars. I remember having to mess with the brightness on the mobile camera a little bit to keep it from washing out, but not nearly as much as with night photos.

I don't know much about Apple products, but if you ever do go to Android, look at the Samsung Galaxy series phones, some of the best cameras on a cell phone. And by far outperforms most DSLRs, both day and night.

@John Donne here earned an APOD with a night scape shot viewtopic.php?t=22447 and here's another one taken with an older Samsung by the same fella, viewtopic.php?t=21038

Clear Skies,
Chris

[Thefatkitty]

Hi Ed, very nicely done! I noticed your post this morning and was going to respond, but at 4:30AM I needed coffee....
That a great capture, especially with a cell-phone and bino's; use whatcha got

I won't post a pic on your thread (doesn't seem right to me), but here's a link to a shot I took through a 60mm scope of the Moon and Venus Jan. 31st, 2019 at 1:30PM. I was snowed in at home, and the sky was a clear blue, with Venus hanging near the Moon. Talk about timing!

As others have said, Stellarium is a great program for seeing what's up and going to be up, and there are other programs as well.

Congrats on the VROD as well; bling is fun!

All the best,

[kt4hx]

Very nice Ed, and congrats on the VROD. You can also see the brighter stars as well, but they can be very difficult to pick up. I have seen Sirius after sunrise before by keeping my telescope on it as it got light. It is an interesting thing to see objects one might not otherwise think of against the backdrop of a blue sky. Enjoy your time searching the skies, both day and night!

[jrkirkham]

Thanks for the report. Your narrative and pictures complimented each other and started a good conversation. Congratulations on the VROD. I have a Samsung Galaxy. It doesn't replace my other cameras, but it holds its own and compliments them. It's amazing what cell phone camera can do these days.

[Baurice]

I've only ever caught the Moon and Venus in daylight. I once saw Jupiter when it was near the Moon but that's cheating!

When photographing the Moon, I use GIMP and remove the red and v blue channels and boost contrast.