Could be a silly question.. but

[Saucey12]

Is it possible for an amateur astronomer to see Vesta with their telescope (any kind of telescope that would be in an affordable range for a 'amateur' astronomer)? I was checking out Stellarium and I would guess that if it were even possible that you probley couldnt right now due to the brightness of the moon right now.

Does anyone have any good pics of the moon setting? I go to work early in the morning just before sunrise and lately the moon as been a magnificent sight as it sets just before sunrise. I hate that I have not been able to get a good shot of it myself yet.

[AustinPSD]

Vesta is under a half arc-second in size right now - it is visible through large binoculars (100mm), 90mm and larger telescopes, but it will generally appear as a featureless pin-prick of light under good seeing conditions.

When the moon is full, it makes it harder to see, but before moonrise during a full moon (for example, from my location as I reply to this) it is visible.

It's a challenge, but you can see it with an amateur class instrument...

[Saucey12]

Vesta is under a half arc-second in size right now - it is visible through large binoculars (100mm), 90mm and larger telescopes, but it will generally appear as a featureless pin-prick of light under good seeing conditions.

When the moon is full, it makes it harder to see, but before moonrise during a full moon (for example, from my location as I reply to this) it is visible.

It's a challenge, but you can see it with an amateur class instrument...

wow thats cool. I expected the answer to be: NO.
Is it correct that stellarium will give you the apparent size as you mentioned above if you can click on an object?

[AustinPSD]

wow thats cool. I expected the answer to be: NO.
Is it correct that stellarium will give you the apparent size as you mentioned above if you can click on an object?

Possibly - I'm less familiar with Stellarium, although I have it installed (the Mac OS X version). I use Starry Night Pro, which does provide apparent size, as well as magnitude (taking into account various factors).