Sunrise Sighting Report
South Africa, June 15-16, 2003

Have been trying to view Planet X from Durban RSA for some months now. Thought I spotted it once, back in mid May just after the setting sun, but nothing prepared me for what I saw on Sunday morning. Got up early and left the house at 05h30 our time to go fishing. As I drove down the hill a little way from where I live, there it was, hanging in the sky about 12° off the horizon. One would have to be out of one’s mind to mistake this for a star. Its size, brightness, apparent closeness and slight crescent shape are dead give a way’s that this is a planet our side of the sun.

Today Monday 16 June is a public holiday here in South Africa and it afforded the whole family an opportunity to view PX for some hours with the naked eye. We could still see the planet through a pair of binoculars at 08h00, even though the signal to noise ratio was dwindling rapidly. Sunrise was at 06h50, viewing direction ENE (East North East). Lost sight of Planet X at 08h15

Len, in South Africa

 

I also live in South Africa, in Johannesburg, just a bit north from Len who reported the Planet X sighting. I used the interactive sky chart software, and believe that Len from Durban was looking at Venus, which was about ENE for my location at the time that he specified his sighting. So I don't think you should be using that as a valid sighting! I've been looking for this px for months with my binoculars, but have been unable to see it.

Walter

 

Len describes the object as a slight crescent shaped, while Planet X is consistenly a glowing orb. Misty, when filming Planet X with Mt. Wilson’s webcam on May 27, captured the first shot at 4:06 AM and it was fading in the now visible Sun ball at 4:54 AM, a differrence of 45 minutes at a time when Planet X was still well below the Ecliptic and not near the Sun. Len describes a difference of 1 hour 20 minutes from 5:50 to 6:50 AM. The issue is indeed debatable.

Nancy