Thinnest Moon

From Spaceweather.com, February 8th:

"It could be the thinnest crescent you'll ever see. Behold, the 0.5% Moon:

"I took this picture last night about 30 minutes after sunset," says Sam Cole of Austin, Texas. The Moon was only visible for about 8 minutes before it set below the curve of the Earth."

We didn't get a chance to see this one, clouded out by rainclouds. The next night (Thursday) we could see a fantastic thin crescent moon when we went out for evening chores. By the time we were done, some high clouds had rolled in from the west and completed obscured the sky (sorry, Eiley). Next night and then tonight - more clouds. The image below shows a slightly thinner view than we had... another month, perhaps.

The best bet for a super-young crescent moon this year in eastern North America is on May 5th, 2008 when an 11 hour moon should be visible. And the next night (when it is about 4% illuminated), Mercury should be visible right next to it (about 45 minutes before sunset). Like the picture above from a 1999 pairing.

Till then, I'll just dream about seeing the sky beyond the scudding clouds. Seeing the Sun would be a nice change of pace, too.