Jupiter and the waxing crescent moon

01/29/12, 8 pm, looking west

This smirking moon smiles like the Cheshire cat in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. Last night's cool darkness was the perfect foil to this cat-like grin, the waxing crescent moon at 43 percent illumination.


There are several stories of the origin of the Cheshire cat including carvings on churches, St Wilfrid's in Grappenhall, Cheshire, St Nicolas in Cranleigh, Surrey and St Christopher's church in Pott Shrigley, Cheshire. The latter has the carving that most resembles the illustration of the cat in the book. The story I like best on the Wikipedia page is about the cheese molds in Cheshire: 

cheese was formerly sold in Cheshire moulded like a cat that looked as though it was grinning. The cheese was cut from the tail end, so that the last part eaten was the head of the smiling cat.

The moon was just north of Jupiter which was the brightest planet in the sky last night. Tonight Venus shines bright in the southwest, maybe rivaling Jupiter's brilliance.