Ceres-Lagoon Nebula Transit Caught On Camera

It was quite an event for amateur astronomers: dwarf planet Ceres was going to be crossing the Lagoon Nebula at the turn of May into June. True, while Ceres is always visible (and photographic), the fact that it was going to be crossing the second brightest nebula in the Northern sky would make it very easy to find and then shoot over the nights of the transit.

The only thing that could ruin the event would be clouds.

Fortunately, here in Northeast Ohio at least, the sky cooperated for two of the three best nights when the event was taking place. Below are two photos, the top one is from the morning of June 2 and the bottom is from the morning of the 4th (the 3rd was a cloud-out). Marked with an arrow is Ceres, the celestial body that was once considered a planet for about 50 years after its discovery.

Sorry for the low quality of the images, but these were single night events and the neighbors trees do not afford a long view of something this low in the sky.

Hope you like them anyway . . .

Humble requests:

If you found this informative (or at least entertaining), check out my Examiner page for more great stuff. By doing this, you are helping me pay the bills, which I am grateful for.

Don't forget to pass this link along, either.

For something even better, become a follower.