Venus and Antares Seen from Southern Philippines

I haven't been writing on my blogs lately because I'm busy. Anyway, another power outage last night forced me to go out and watch the stars. I missed the close approach of Venus to Antares, Scorpio's heart, on October 16. But I was glad to see the pair of celestial objects still close together last night.

This was a view of the southwest as seen over General Santos City. You can see that very bright object that appears close to the trees. It's Venus. Below it is the red supergiant, though it appears like a dot from us. That's Antares. They call it the heart of the scorpion. Unfortunately, the clouds obscure some of the stars of the constellation Scorpio. Can you make out the cosmic teapot in the upper part of the photo? This exposure renders everything bright, as though it was daytime. It would have been very nice we could see stars during the day.

I don't know what to think of these two photos. Our veranda is still under construction, so there's stuff here and there. A sudden urge to go abstract came to me last night when I went upstairs. Are these even abstract photos? 

I couldn't let the opportunity to take another snap of the full moon pass. It was just there hanging in the sky, perhaps waiting for some earthling to behold its lone grandeur. Most people don't realize the sheer significance of this object. The earth would be a totally different place if the moon weren't here, and that's not because the evening would be less romantic without those moonlit lakes or that silver glow the moon casts upon the trees and hills. You probably wouldn't be here to worry about it anyway.