Home»Gallery»Portola Valley Ranch, Windy Hill, Etc.»9/30/2022 Waning Moon, Mystery Object: Portola Valley Star Party

This was fun! Portola Valley turned out for a star party. Old friends and new, bumping into each other in the dark. Local telescope enthusiasts set up viewing stations: Our Moon, Jupiter with its satellites (?), Saturn with its rings. There were long lines, residents from young to old. Perfect weather for looking up.

I snapped a few photos with my camera -- handheld, there were enough tripods around. Here is our Moon, waning, "setting" behind the Western Hills. Another snapshot of Jupiter and three of its moons, dancing around in their synchronized orbits. (Compare to my photos from 9/26 and 9/27, showing the moons in different positions.)

Then a reddish object moved slowly across the sky. I snapped a few photos. Looking closely, this appeared to be two disks, moving in tandem. What is it? Could it be the International Space Station?? Let me know, leave a comment on a photo!