Mercury is more easily viewed from the Northern Hemisphere, where it rises well over an hour before sunrise. CLICK HERE TO TURN ON NOTIFICATIONS. Calls came in to TV stations as far afield as San Diego, more than 200 miles south of the launch site. Therefore, the reflected sunlight from bright almost-full Earth lights up the nighttime side of the moon. Sky News - First for Breaking News, video, headlines, analysis and top stories from business, politics, entertainment and more in the UK and worldwide. If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, you should also see the orange star Arcturus, to the left of the planets and moon. The satellites also carry payloads for global aircraft tracking and a ship-tracking service. Thanks for sharing. Don’t mistake Spica for Mercury or vice versa. Conditions were so clear that the light traveled far and wide, perplexing commuters and others who glimpsed the ghost-like sight. Although Venus outshines Mercury by over 20 times, Mercury is nonetheless brighter than a 1st-magnitude star right now. The sky over the Bay Area has a strange yellow glow this week. He wrote, “This is Marblehead Lighthouse in Marblehead, Ohio. The Hawthorne-based rocket maker launched ten Iridium NEXT communications satellites bound for low-Earth orbit. San Mateo: ‘High-risk’ sex offender arrested in connection with attempted rape of child, Federal death penalty decision on accused Oakland cop killers won’t be made until Biden/Harris administration takes over, Motorcyclist killed after driving off San Mateo County cliff, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom sets dates for ‘Holiday in the Park Lights’. Hide Caption 56 of 124 It was a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched at Vandenberg Air Force Base about 150 miles north of Los Angeles in Lompoc at 5:27 p.m. Dustin Guy in Seattle caught a hint of earthshine on the old moon on the morning of November 6, 2018. The same rocket carried Iridium satellites into orbit in June. Then the Italian astronomer Zupus first observed the phases of Mercury in 1639, providing proof that Mercury orbits the sun as well. The illuminated or daylight side of the waning moon always points eastward, or in the direction of moon’s orbital motion around Earth. Look for Mercury beneath Venus and closer to the horizon. SpaceX has made four launches and expects to make several more to complete the job by mid-2018. All across the San Francisco Bay Area, residents woke up to dark, orange skies from the California wildfires burning nearby. Image via UCLA. pic.twitter.com/iAf24OsIrH, — Ralph Amsden (@ralphamsden) December 23, 2017. Leonid meteor shower is building to a peak. Although Mercury is some four times brighter than Spica, Mercury is more deeply buried in the glow of morning twilight. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. ... Giants and the Seattle Mariners / USA TODAY ... California … Bottom line: These next several days, watch as the waning crescent moon joins up with the planets Mercury and Venus, plus the star Spica, in the eastern predawn/dawn sky. Venus in the center and Arcturus to the left if I’m not mistaken.” That’s right, Tony, Venus and Arcturus! When Venus is on the far side of the sun, we see a gibbous Venus; but when Venus in on the near (Earth) side of the sun, we see Venus as a crescent. Get Morning Report and other email newsletters. A SpaceX launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base lights up the sky 250 miles north for this view from Mount Hamilton, east of San Jose, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 7, 2018. Try not to mistake Spica for Mercury or vice versa! That time, the first stage landed on a floating platform in the Pacific Ocean. The wildfires raging in more than a dozen western U.S. states have painted the sky and polluted the air, causing disturbing scenes to unfold in front of millions of people. On the other hand, superior planets – planets that orbit the sun outside Earth’s orbit – are always full or nearly full. Each day, at the same time, note the change of the moon’s position, relative to the backdrop planets and stars of the zodiac. Mercury and Venus are called inferior planets, because these worlds orbit the sun inside Earth’s orbit. Pictures of the red and orange skyline flooded social media as some reported oversleeping because the sky was so dark. It was the 18th and final launch of 2017 for SpaceX, which has contracted to replace Iridium’s system with 75 updated satellites. But no, both of these inner worlds are showing a waxing gibbous phase, not a waning crescent phase. Look eastward before daybreak – November 11, 12 and 13, 2020 – to see the waning crescent moon with the planets Venus and Mercury. pic.twitter.com/SQLRfqQIcu, — (@aliciaxaliciaa) December 23, 2017, Anybody else see this light in the sky? Smoke. You simply can’t miss dazzling Venus, because this world ranks as the third-brightest heavenly body, after the sun and the moon. A light pulling another light. What was that weird light in the sky over California? Mercury won’t turn into a crescent again until late January 2021, and Venus won’t do so until November 2021. When the waning crescent moon passes close to Venus and then Mercury in the next few days, you might expect these planets to exhibit a similar phase. Like our moon, inferior planets display the full range of phases, though you need a telescope to see them. (Actually, the moon doesn’t swing close to these planets in space, but closely aligns with them on the sky’s dome.) The Associated Press contributed to this report. Observe also the beautiful soft glow of earthshine on the dark or nighttime side of the moon. View at EarthSky Community Photos. In fact, there’s a 1st-magnitude star in the vicinity of Mercury and Venus on the sky’s dome, named Spica. The launch in the setting sun created a shining, billowing streak that was widely seen throughout Southern California and as far away as Phoenix. Order yours before they’re gone! | On November 6, before the moon was sweeping through the scene, Tony Everhardt caught Venus shining like a beacon in the east before sunrise. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! All Access Digital offer for just 99 cents! 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When Galileo first observed Venus in the early 1600’s, the phases of Venus provided conclusive proof that Venus orbits the sun instead of Earth. Plus, the moon’s illuminated side more closely points to Mercury than to Spica on November 11, 12 and 13. What is it???? In fact, there will be a 1st-magnitude star near Mercury on the sky’s dome: Spica, the brightest star in the constellation Virgo the Maiden. At present, Mercury and Venus reside on the far side of the sun, so they display gibbous phases. Click here to find out about the Taurid meteor shower. Cars pulled over on freeways so drivers could take pictures. This time, the rocket was allowed to plunge into the sea. I just seen this light in the sky in the OC area. Did you see that ethereal bright white cloud stream across the skies just after sunset on Friday night? Mercury and Venus show a crescent phase when they’re on the near (Earth) side of the sun, and a gibbous phase when on the far side of the sun. See the moon phase for every day in 2021 on EarthSky’s Lunar Calendar. Start your day with the news you need from the Bay Area and beyond. Sign up for our new Morning Report newsletter. Bejhan Razi, a senior building inspector in Mill Valley, California, checks out repairs on a lamp-post clock as the sky is illuminated by nearby wildfires. GET BREAKING NEWS IN YOUR BROWSER. #UFO pic.twitter.com/HOimrsFEqB, — Isidro (@Cabezadepollo_) December 23, 2017, Trippiest thing I have ever seen in the sky west of me just now. The Los Angeles Fire Department issued an advisory that the “mysterious light in the sky” was from the rocket launch. What in the hell is going on? The phases of Mercury and Venus helped to bolster the Copernican model of a sun-centered solar system. Makes a great gift. When the moon is a thin crescent in Earth’s sky, the Earth is in an almost-full gibbous phase in the moon’s sky. What was that weird light in the sky over…, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window), Rain will make a rare appearance in parts of Bay Area on Friday.