The celestial ballet

Have you ever set a reminder so far ahead in time that it really, truly, becomes a reminder? I did just that around a year ago, when I created a calendar alert for "good views of venus". I'd taken some photos of the moon and venus, but it was a little cloudy. I looked up when venus would next be so visible in this part of the world, and the internet told me "Dec 5th 2013". I made a reminder in the calendar application on my computer, and forgot about it until 4:30pm this afternoon, when my phone reminded me. I quickly grabbed my RX1 (a focal length of 35mm is not usually considered ideal for taking a photograph of the moon) and made my way to the stairs at the end of my building. I often take photos from this position, but rarely after sunset. The sun had just gone down, but there wasn't a cloud in the sky - just perfect colours. I watched venus and the moon perform their annual celestial ballet, as Tokyo descended into darkness.

Shinjuku Moon-rise

Shinjuku Moonrise │ NEX-7 & Voigtländer Nokton Classic F1.4 │ 35mm, ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/60, RAW

It seems I'm a bit of a lunatic, this month ;)

Took this shot on Saturday at 5:30pm in Shinjuku, central Tokyo. I'd spent the day walking around the familiar back streets and was feeling quite uninspired, and cold. I felt I'd wasted the afternoon until the sun dropped at around five, and we were greeted with a majestic moon-rise over the city.

I quickly whipped out the camera, and took a few underexposed shots of the moon, knowing I could pull some details out of the NEX-7 raw if I shot with a low enough ISO. Sure enough, There's enough dynamic range here to make out the cars on the road, and people in the bottom left.

Moon & Jupiter

Moon & Jupiter │ NEX-7 & Canon NFD 200mm F4 │ 200mm, ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/160, RAW

Considering I live in the centre of Tokyo, I'm still surprised by the clarity with which I can see the stars, and how the moon illuminates the clouds from the pitch-black. I'm from a rural area in the UK, so starry nights are not a stranger to me. What is strange, however, is that Tokyo with its neons, skyscrapers and apartments, can have skies with such clarity. Sometimes I feel as though I could reach the moon. On this particular night, Jupiter joined the party (top left).

It's linked, of course, to science. It's extremely cold and dry here at the moment. Moisture in the air makes dust, soot, and other airborne particles grow as they take on water. Their new size then scatters (and absorbs) light in many ways, creating fogs, haze, and generally unfavourable clear-sky conditions. Japan is cold and dry ( < 10% humidity sometimes) in the winter, and so the particles don't grow. Electric public transport is so common here in Tokyo, that cars are relatively few and far between. Tokyo is about as polluted as some rural parts of the UK, in a particulate sense. Tokyo makes up for it with light pollution though... on a damp morning or evening, you've no hope of seeing anything other than the reflection of the city above your head.

Can you see Orion?