27.7 day old Waning Crescent Moon, Milky Way, 3 planets – March 4, 2019

Posted on by Joe

Visually observed

  • The Milky Way with Sagittarius and Scorpius prominent, along with Venus, Jupiter and Saturn in the pre-dawn light
  • The thinnest Waning Crescent Moon I have observed and photographed – 2 days before New Moon. Moon framed with the Dragoon Mountains in the pre-dawn light, just a few minutes before sunrise. 27.65 day old Moon, 4% illumination, 4º42′ altitude, 113º33′ azimuth.

Date, time, location, conditions

Start: 2019.03.04 5:00AM MST
End: 2019.03.04 6:30AM MST
Location: Garry Sedun’s SDG Observatory, Dragoon Mountain Ranch, St. David, AZ, USA – 31.918797° N 110.070251° W
Observers: none
Conditions: Temp: 5°C, Calm winds ; Stability: 4/5 ; Seeing: 3/5; Darkness: ~2 mag

Photos & Observations

Milky Way – Sagittarius, Scorpius, Venus, Saturn and Jupiter in the pre-dawn with an erratic meteor – 5:15AM – 5:30AM

  • Sony a7 III mirrorless
  • Manual exposure
    • 2 sec to 1/30 sec
    • ISO 800
    • Canon 8-15mm Fisheye zoom lens operating at 15mm-24mm f/4 – 2019JCa7DSC00421-426
    • Sony 24-70 f/4 zoom lens operating at 24mm – 2019JCa7DSC00419-420
Pre-dawn Sagittarius area of the Milky Way with Venus, Saturn and Jupiter over the Dragoon Mountains with a Meteor streak
Pre-dawn Sagittarius area of the Milky Way with Venus, Saturn and Jupiter over the Dragoon Mountains with a Meteor streak
Chart: Pre-dawn with Venus, Saturn and Jupiter over the Dragoon Mountains - 2019-03-04, 5:49:29 AM
Chart: Pre-dawn with Venus, Saturn and Jupiter over the Dragoon Mountains – 2019-03-04, 5:49:29 AM

Pre-dawn Milky Way with Venus and Saturn over the Dragoon Mountains – 5:48AM – 6:05AM

  • Ranging around in the pre-dawn SE sky
  • Sony a7 III mirrorless + Sony 24-70 f/4 zoom lens operating at 24mm f/4-f/4.5
  • Manual exposure – 8 sec – 1/30 sec
  • ISO 1,600 – 12,800
  • 2019JCa7DSC00427-443
Pre-dawn with Venus, Saturn and Jupiter over the Dragoon Mountains, St. David, AZ, USA - 2019-03-04, 5:49:29 AM
Pre-dawn with Venus, Saturn and Jupiter over the Dragoon Mountains, St. David, AZ, USA – 2019-03-04, 5:49:29 AM

Thin Crescent Moon over Dragoon Mountains – 6:20AM – 6:25AM

  • Sony a7 III mirrorless + Sony 70-300mm zoom lens operating at 300mm f/5.6
  • Auto exposure Program AE
    • 1/320 to 1/200 sec
    • -1eV
    • ISO 800
  • 2019JCa7DSC00444-449
Very thin waning crescent Moon over the Dragoon Mountains in the pre-dawn - 2019-03-04, 6:21:13 AM
Very thin waning crescent Moon over the Dragoon Mountains in the pre-dawn – 2019-03-04, 6:21:13 AM
Chart: Very thin waning crescent Moon over the Dragoon Mountains in the pre-dawn - 2019-03-04 at 6.22 AM
Chart: Very thin waning crescent Moon over the Dragoon Mountains in the pre-dawn – 2019-03-04 at 6.22 AM

My JoeTourist travelogue – Dragoon Mountain Ranch and Council Rocks

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