Mercury and Venus Set Beside the Dome of the Weiss Observatory in Mitzpe Ramon

Venus, upper left, and mercury set next to the dome of the Weiss Observatory in Mitzpe Ramon, Israel.

New Moon of Adar with Mercury!

I was out again tonight, photographing the new moon of Adar together with Mercury. Mars is somewhere in here below Mercury, but lost in the haze. This time I managed to include the dome of the Weiss Observatory 40-inch telescope. I was right up next to the rim of Machtesh Ramon, a bit scary after dark. I'll try again tomorrow night when the moon will be bigger and brighter.

The new moon of Adar 5773 on February 11, 2013, 6:15PM local time, just 28 hours old!. Mercury is seen to the lower left of the moon, with the dome and slit of the Weiss observatory 40-inch reflector to the right.