Steve Pauken in Winslow, Arizona captured this fine shot of the moon and Venus, just as Venus was disappearing behind the moon’s limb, on December 7, 2015.
Eliot Herman caught a shot of Venus just before it disappeared behind the moon. He wrote: “Image taken with a Questar Q3.5 telescope and a Nikon D810 camera mounted on an iOptron Alt AZ mount. Observation site is the Tucson, Arizona foothills, through scattered clouds.”
The daylight occultation of Venus was seen in Mexico, too. Hector Barrios in Hermosillo, in northwestern Mexico, contributed this photo.
Lyle Evans in Highland, California caught Venus and the moon minutes before the December 7 occultation. Thanks, Lyle!
December 7 occultation of Venus by the moon – just as a crow flew past. Photo by Bill Reyna in New Jersey. He told he took a look outside, located the moon and Venus and said to himself, “Yeah, I can do this.” Thanks, Bill!
View larger. | Scott MacNeill wrote: “Here’s a quick sequence shot of the occultation of Venus from this afternoon at Frosty Drew Observatory in Charlestown, Rhode Island … Note the 68% gibbous phase on Venus. It was somewhat cloudy all day in Rhode Island and the skies opened up just in time to catch the occultation. Woot!”
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Scott MacNeill in Charlestown, Rhode Island created a video timelapse of the occultation, above.
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Greg Hogan in Kathleen, Georgia also created a video timelapse of the occultation. And check out the two composite images, also by Greg, below.
View larger. | Greg Hogan also created this composite image that showed the moon about to sweep over Venus, and finally engulfing it. Thank you, Greg!
One last one from the daylight occultation of Venus on December 7. This is Venus after coming out the other side of the moon, after the occultation ended. Photo by Peter Rodney Breaux in Los Angeles.
View larger. | Many saw the moon and Venus before dawn. Comet Catalina was nearby. This awesome composite image from Greg Hogan shows the December 7 moon, Venus and Comet Catalina before Monday’s dawn. Greg told EarthSky: “I did one short exposure to expose for the moon. I then merged the two images to over lap to get the lunar details. I used a Canon 7D on a EQ Mount for tracking. I stacked the image in DEEP SKY STACKER and balanced the exposures using Lightroom 4.”
Kenny Cagle posted this photo to EarthSky’s community page on G+. He captured the moon and Venus before dawn on December 7 from Hot Springs, Arkansas. This is how many across North America saw the pair before Monday’s dawn.
John Entwistle wrote: “From early this morning, the crescent moon approaching Venus over the Jersey Shore, New Jersey.”
View larger. | K.D. Borcoman in Sedona, Arizona, wrote on December 7, 2015: “Caught the pair rising over Elephant Rock this morning.”
Holly Joy in Prescott, Arizona caught this telescopic view of the moon and Venus on December 7. Thanks, Holly!
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Russ Olinatz in Hartford, Connecticut captured the video above before dawn on December 7.
Denice Boyers in Nashville, Tennessee caught Venus and the moon on the morning of December 7. Thanks, Denice!
View larger. | Tom Wildoner in Pennsylvania over-exposed the moon and Venus to catch Comet Catalina nearby. Visit Tom’s blog at LeisurelyScientist.com
Mike O’Neal had clouds, too, but caught Venus and the moon despite them.
GregDiesel Landscape Photography in North Carolina said: “Patience paid off and I got this break in the clouds for the close pairing of Venus and the moon around 5:30 a.m.”
View larger. | Nikolaos Pantazis caught the moon, Venus and Comet Catalina from Cape Sounion, Greece on December 7.
Indranil Sinha in Saltsjöbaden, Sweden caught this photo of Venus and the moon on the morning of December 7. The pale glow on the dark portion of the moon is called earthshine.
Stephen Marceau in Orange, New South Wales – a state in southeastern Australia – wrote: “While I was trying to get the sunrise on the scattered clouds with Venus and the moon, a dozen Ibis flew past.” In this photo, Venus is in the lower right …
Asthadi Setyawan caught the pair while a glorious sunrise was in progress in Malang, East Java, Indonesia.
Here’s one from the previous morning, December 6, 2015. It’s from our friend Jean-Baptiste Feldmann in France.
Deborah Byrd
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About the Author:
Deborah Byrd created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. Today, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of this website. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. In 2020, she won the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society, the largest organization of professional astronomers in North America. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.