Tag: Moon

Moon, Venus, and Jupiter

A few weeks ago I shot photographs of the crescent phase of Venus (~11% illuminated) in the southwestern twilight sky. I then decided to also get photographs of the crescent Moon (~32% illuminated) and the planet Jupiter. These were in different parts of the sky and not all visible in the same photograph. I composited them into this image which shows the relative sizes of the three bodies. All images were shot using a 500mm telephoto lens.

Composite image of the Moon, Venus, and Jupiter.
Composite image of the Moon, Venus, and Jupiter.

Below is a screen shot from Stellarium showing the actual positions of Jupiter, the Moon, and Venus.

Screen shot from Stellarium showing the actual positions of Jupiter, the Moon, and Venus.
Screen shot from Stellarium showing the actual positions of Jupiter, the Moon, and Venus.

Four Planets in the Evening Sky

For a brief period between sunset and astronomical twilight there were several planets visible in the evening sky. Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter were all easily seen with the unaided eye. With a few seconds exposure, cameras easily resolved Uranus. Missing was Saturn which was so low in the sky that it was overpowered by the bright glare of early twilight.

Four planets (Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, and Uranus) plus the crescent Moon during evening twilight.
Four planets (Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, and Uranus) plus the crescent Moon during evening twilight.
A zoomed-in crop to better show Uranus.
A zoomed-in crop to better show Uranus.

Here is an image with Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, and Uranus, plus the Moon. Mars was too far to the east to be included even with this wide-angle lens. Also included is a zoomed-in crop of the original image to clearly show Uranus.

Multiple planets visible in the sky simultaneously is not a rare event. Rather, it happens on a regular basis. Here are links to other events that have been posted on this site.

Lunar Occultation of Mars

There was a lunar occultation of Mars on the evening of 13 January 2025. An luncar occultation is when the disk of the Moon (or Luna) passes in front of a star or planet. This was an easy event to observe with the Moon low in the eastern sky.

The Moon and Mars. Mars has just reappeard from behind the lunar disk.
The Moon and Mars. Mars has just reappeard from behind the lunar disk.

My plan was to shoot several/many images of the ingress and then multiple images of the egress. Unfortunately, most of the images (but not all) were out of focus. I suspect that the rapid cooling of the telephoto lens was the cause of lost focus. Once I noticed the issue and re-focused it stayed in focus.

Time lapse of the Moon and Mars.

I shot images at 3-second intervals as egress started then switched to 30-second intervals. These were assembled into a time-lapse video, shown below.

The next Moon-Mars occultation visible in North America will occur in February, 2042.

 

 

Sedona Moonrise–June 2024

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It is the season for capturing the nearly-full Moon as it rises behind Cathedral Rock in Sedona, Arizona. The best time to capture this is a day (or two) before the actual full Moon so that late afternoon sunlight still illuminates Cathedral Rock. The Photographers Ephemeris (TPE) was used to determine the best location to shoot this as it became visible between the towers.

Unfortunately, there was a major dust storm the day and dust remained in the air partially obscuring the Moon at lower elevation angles. The Moon got brighter as it rose higher in the sky.

The nearly full Moon rises behind Cathedral Rock in Sedona, Arizona.
The nearly full Moon rises behind Cathedral Rock in Sedona, Arizona.

And here is a time-lapse sequence of the Moon rising.

Time-lapse sequence of the Moon rising behind Cathedral Rock.

Bonus:

Here is additional Moon photograph taken at Upper Lake Mary near Flagstaff in early June. I was going for the reflection.

Moonlight reflected in Upper Lake Mary from a crescent Moon.
Moonlight reflected in Upper Lake Mary from a crescent Moon.

 

 

Moonrise and Cathedral Rock–May 2024

We are now in the season for capturing the nearly-full Moon as it rises behind Cathedral Rock in Sedona, Arizona. The best time to capture this is a day (or two) before the actual full Moon so that late afternoon sunlight still illuminates Cathedral Rock. As always, The Photographers Ephemeris greatly aides in determining the best location to capture this event.

The nearly-full Moon rises behind Cathedral Rock and Oak Creek near Sedona, Arizona.
The nearly-full Moon rises behind Cathedral Rock and Oak Creek near Sedona, Arizona.

The timing on this Moonrise was late enough that the Sun would already be partially obscured by mountains and ridges to the west. So one photograph was made when the light on Cathedral Rock was most dramatic and about ten minutes later the Moon photograph was taken as it rose above Cathedral Rock. The two photographs were then combined to create this composite image.

A short time earlier there were several people on the rocks in the creek including a portrait photographer. Thankfully they got their shots and left before it was time for us to take our photographs.

Bonus: a few days earlier I shot this image of the waxing gibbous Moon using a 500mm telephoto.

Waxing gibbous Moon on 17 May 2024.
Waxing gibbous Moon on 17 May 2024.