Observation 1: Sept 12

September 12th: Venus and the Moon

At about 12:00 PM I observed Venus through a telescope from campus.  Venus appeared very bright in the telescope and was roughly round.  Also, I observed the Moon through binoculars (also from campus).  The Moon was in its waning crescent phase and was very visible through both the binoculars and with the naked eye.

At about 1:00 PM, I again observed the Moon through binoculars.  It was still very visible; its appearance had not changed.  Also, without telescope or binoculars, I observed the Moon and Venus. The Moon was fairly high in the sky and Venus was approximately 4.5 degrees (2/3 of my fist) to the north east (from my position) of the Moon.  The Moon was not difficult to locate with the naked eye but Venus was fairly hard to find.  I found it by imagining a line drawn between the tips of the crescent moon and extended out.  .

This is approximately how the Moon and Venus appeared to me except Venus was much fainter because I made my observation during the day