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Originally Posted by hhEb09'1
Quote:
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Originally Posted by ramsquire
Earlier this morning in South California, where I am, the moon and Sun were in the exact same portion of the sky. In fact the sun was "above" the moon forming a sort of figure 8.
I'm a beginner stargazer and wondered how frequent does this occur, and what is it called when it happens?
Also, without using a sun filter, can I view the moon when this occurs? both objects were very bright, but considering the moon is just reflecting the light is it okay to not use a filter?
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Welcome to the BABB (soon to be BAUT?  ), ramsquire.
I'm not sure what you saw, but it was probably some sort of reflection. The moon was more than twenty degrees away from the sun this morning, and it won't be until the day after tomorrow that it gets within two and a half degrees. And even when the moon is within a couple degrees of the sun, the lit side of the moon is turned away from us, and the sun is so bright that you would not be able to see the moon with your naked eye at all. |
Yes, I was a little taken by the description of the sun & moon as "forming a sort of figure-8". This does sound like a reflection, especially as they were described as "both very bright". The moon this morning was very much a fingernail crescent and would have been quite difficult to see unless you knew exactly where to look, owing to the brightness of the sun nearby.
You can never see the moon and the sun in close proximity in the sky, where both are displaying a round 'full' shape. You see it sometimes in movies, but never in real life!
(Edited to add: Welcome ramsquire!
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