This morning Venus was literally bright enough to read by, with a magnitude of -4.5. As you can see by the chart below, it should be possible to view Mercury and Mars too, but at magnitudes 0.4 and 1.4, perhaps they're just not bright enough in the pre-dawn glow. Over the next week or so the situation should improve, so that the three planets could be visible half an hour before dawn (last image)
The male Sparrowhawk was back in his usual spot, sheltering from the wind and hail!
Some readers of the blog have asked if I could post the video I mentioned a couple of day's ago. It was taken from one of the Shuttle Orbiters, looking down at the upper layers of the atmosphere: I believe the video is in the public domain. Below it is the image I took: I reckon they look pretty similar. I would point out that my photo was taken with the camera on a very sturdy tripod (I was taking longish exposures to try and capture Mercury & Mars)
Our resident pair of Sparrowhawks have definitely worked out a hunting strategy: the female hides among the branches of the sycamore, while the small male perches on the fence behind our large magnolia. He sat there for an hour this afternoon, before dashing off in pursuit of a Blue Tit.
Of course, Venus isn't a star, it's a planet: it shines by reflecting sunlight. However, its dense , white atmosphere of carbon dioxide and sulphuric acid make it very reflective (ie: give it a high albedo) It is also the nearest planet to Earth in absolute terms: around 25 million miles. At the moment, these factors combine to give Venus a magnitude of -5.0, by far the brightest object in the sky other than the Sun and Moon.
This morning Venus was so bright I could photograph it through my office window, even with the lights on! I dashed up onto the Heath to find a clear eastern horizon, in the hope of catching Mars and Mercury, both of which rise just before dawn: no luck, though...
One strange happening: two (three?) glowing 'tubes' suddenly appeared in the west: I managed a single shot before they disappeared. They seem very similar to the object videoed from one of the Shuttles by Story Musgrave
With the Moon showing a beautiful waxing crescent at sunset, my favourite crater Petavius was prominent last night. Its central peaks are plainly visible, as is its elongated neighbour Palitzsch, and you can just make out the curved rille running from the crater wall to the central peaks.
Some serious activity on the surface of the Sun this week: there are three groups of sunspots on these images I took this afternoon (I have some expensive filters for my telescopes and camera lenses: never try to take photos of the Sun unless you know what you're doing!)
Given all the spots and recent coronal mass ejections, we might have seen the aurora this week, had it been clear during the night!
I was just about to have lunch when the pager sent me northward to Cley, where a Red-breasted Goose was feeding with Brents on the Eye Field. I kept to the speed limits all the way and was rewarded by wonderful views of this dapper little goose as soon as I arrived. A smallish gallery (including a charming lady who 'put me onto' the RBG) enjoyed this eastern visitor (well: possibly western, from Lincolnshire!) as the Brents fed close to Beach Road. I sat back in the car and took more photos until, for no obvious reason, the whole flock flew east. The only possible cause I could think of was perhaps a group of birders who had decided to stand right on the skyline: not great field craft...
Our resident female Sparrowhawk took two Collared Doves in under an hour today, eating both in situ before flying off! Good thing these uber-predators don't grow the size of a pterosaur!
A run down to the Brecks started at Linford Arboretum, where the feeders by the stone bridge quickly yielded Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Marsh Tit, Great Spot and all the usual tits. The paddock was not so productive: no Hawfinches, just a large flock of Redwings and Fieldfares with a few Mistle Thrushes. The trees by the lake held good numbers of Siskin but little else: luckily the 'ride' beyond the famous gate provided both Yellowhammers and Bramblings.
After coffee at the excellent new refreshment kiosk, next stop was the raptor viewpoint at Cockley Cley. A distant Goshawk gave teasing views over the woodland belt: the Buzzareds were much more obliging. (More Fieldfares and a Woodlark were good to see too...)
Final venue was a remarkably bird-free Santon Downham: home for a late lunch, still buzzing at the sight of the USAAF memorial fly-past
While out birding in the Brecks this morning I enjoyed the astonishing sight of a B-1B Lancer accompanied by an F35, two F15s and an RAF Hawk. I'm assuming they were practising for a fly-past for this year's Royal Jubilee, rather than preparing for operations in eastern Europe!
