Viewing Notes
July 17, 2001
Tucson, AZ
Canon 10x30 IS Binoculars

Today was the chance to see the Moon occult Venus during the daytime. The morning skies were overcast as is usual for this time of year (The "Monsoon Season" of the desert southwest). I was planning on taking the Ultima 2000 to work to view this rare event but chose to leave the telescope at home because the skies were so overcast. I took the Canon 10x30 IS binoculars with me, just in case a "sucker hole" opened up.

Around 10:30 a.m. (1730 UT) I went out side and saw high thin clouds west of the Sun. They tapered-off to almost nothing about 15 degrees to the west but I couldn't find the Moon. I brought a coworker, Vince, out to help me - two pairs of eyes were better than one, especially with the deadline fast approaching (Sky & Telescope Magazine predicted the occultation to start around 1738 UT for Tucson, AZ). Vince found the moon after about two minutes of searching and was practically shouting with excitement. I thought he was pulling my leg because we were having so much difficulty with the clouds and all.

I got my chance to peek through the binoculars and, sure enough, there was a thin crescent Moon with a very bright dot of Venus about 10 Venus diameters away. This was the first time I'd ever seen the Moon occulting a planet. Amazingly, Venus was distinguishable naked eye in broad, blinding daylight. All it takes is to have a reference point (the Moon in this case) and you can see another planet during the daytime. The 10x magnification of the binoculars wasn't strong enough to give any phase detail on Venus, but the view was spectacular none-the-less.

I actually watched, naked eye, as Venus disappeared behind the moon. Awesome. Unfortunately, I had a meeting to attend to and wasn't able to see Venus reappear from behind the moon. Still, to be able to witness this and share the experience with others who didn't have any idea this was going to happen, was very special.