New Moon Spotting Contest for June 18 (I saw it. Did You?)

Who will be the first to spot a slender crescent Moon by naked-eye after its conjunction with the Sun on 2004 JUN 17 at 20:27 UT?

I have created a graphic showing the western sky as seen from Chicago on Friday 2004 JUN 18 at 21:00 CDT (it should well serve most North American observers). At that time the Moon will be 1.4% illuminated and elongated from the Sun by 13.4 degrees. The Moon will be nearly in conjunction with Saturn. The Moon will be 5.3 degrees to Saturn's right. Click below:

http://www.curtrenz.com/astro3.html

Post your results in this thread. Please include time (with zone) and location. Photos would be nice. Even negative results will be appreciated. No prizes - just bragging rights. Good Luck.

Thanks for the little projects, Curt. I recall many years ago seeing a less than 24 hour old moon in some 7X50s. I was amazed at how thin it was. I'll try to give this a shot Friday.

Since the Moon will be near Apogee and the equinox is well past, a Moon less than 24 hours old will be tough to spot. 8)

I spotted the Moon aged 29:44 on 2004 JUN 18 at 21:11 CDT (JUN 19 at 02:11 UT) from Arlington Heights, Illinois, USA (W 87.97 - N 42.08). That was 40 minutes after Sunset. At the time the Moon was at Azimuth 302.7 degrees and Altitude 4.5 degrees. It was elongated from the Sun by 13.5 degrees and 1.4% illuminated with an angular diameter of 29.5 arcminutes.

Fortunately, the western sky had just begun to clear as I was walking northwest along a highway. I kept scanning the horizon ahead of me, and suddenly there she was. No optical aids (other than glasses) were needed to assist.

Surely, someone was able to beat that.