Tag: Venus

Conjunction of Venus and Mars

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As mentioned in the previous post, the planets Venus and Mercury passed very close to each other in the evening twilight sky a few nights ago. In fact, this conjuction is the closest conjunction of these two planets until 2033. I chose to photograph the two planets the night before closest approach as I was interested in getting a bit of separation of the two in both the sky and their reflections in the water.

Venus and Mercury in evening twilight (2025 MST 27 May 2021).
Venus and Mercury in evening twilight (2025 MST 27 May 2021).
Venus and Mercury in evening twilight (2037 MST 27 May 2021).
Venus and Mercury in evening twilight (2037 MST 27 May 2021).

The first image was taken at 2025 MST 27 May 2021 with an 85mm focal length. The second image was taken a short time later at 2035 MST with a focal length of 120mm.

In the first image, there is a very nice and long reflection of Venus in the water; the reflection of Mercury is also present but is faint and diffuse. In the second image, the planets were just a few minutes away from dropping below the ridge to the northwest. In this image, the reflections of both planets are easily seen.

The weather cooperated nicely with light winds allowing reflections on the smooth water of Upper Lake Mary.

 

The Moon and Two Planets in the Evening Sky

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Yesterday (12 May 2021) provided an opportunity to view the thin crescent Moon very close to the planet Venus. Also visible in the evening twilight sky was Mercury higher above the pair.

For a few months each year, it is possible to be located so that the setting of the 1-day old crescent Moon aligns along the length of Upper Lake Mary. This allows for a long fetch of water in which to get reflections of the Moon and planets. Of course, this only works if it is not windy and spring is our windy season. So it was very nice to have both clear skies and very light winds for this event.

Moon, Venus, and Mercury in the evening sky.
Moon, Venus, and Mercury in the evening sky.

In the above image the crescent Moon is just slightly above and to the left of Venus. Near the top center of the image is Mercury. Venus is still rising higher in the sky each day while Mercury is dropping lower. Later this month they will pass by each other with ~0.4° of separation. That should be another interesting event to photograph.

The Moon and Venus during evening twilight.
The Moon and Venus during evening twilight.

Two days earlier there will be a total Lunar eclipse taking place in the pre-dawn hours.

A New Comet in the Sky

A recently discovered comet is now shining brightly in the morning sky. Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) was first spotted March 27, 2020, by NASA’s NEOWISE space-borne telescope. The comet passed inside Mercury’s orbit on 03 July 2020 and quickly brightened as it as heated by the intensity of the Sun.

Comet NEOWISE rises above Grand Canyon. Also visible are Venus, Hyades, and Pleiades.
Comet NEOWISE rises above Grand Canyon. Also visible are Venus, Hyades, and Pleiades.

The comet has been rising around the start of Astronomical Twilight when the eastern horizon is just beginning to brighten. Within about 45 minutes to an hour—or shortly after the start of Nautical Twilight—the morning sky has become bright enough to make observation difficult.

The image above was taken as the comet rose above Grand Canyon. Also visible in the image are the planet Venus, the bright star Aldebaran, and the Hyades and Pleiades star clusters.

Comet NEOWISE rises above the eastern horizon on 06 July 2020.
Comet NEOWISE rises above the eastern horizon on 06 July 2020.
Comet NEOWISE on 06 July 2020.
Comet NEOWISE on 06 July 2020.
Comet NEOWISE on 07 July 2020.
Comet NEOWISE on 07 July 2020.

By the third week middle of July the comet will shift from the morning sky into the evening twilight sky. Again, there will be a short window of time in which it is easily observed but viewing the evening is far easier than the morning.

 

A Thin Crescent Moon Reflected in the Lake

Although it’s fun to photograph the Full Moon, I actually prefer photographing a thin crescent Moon, usually just a day or two after the New Moon. The thin crescent is brightly lit while the remainder is softly lit by light reflected by Earth, hence known as Earthshine. It’s also known as DaVinci Glow. As well, the Moon does not overwhelm the night sky so that stars can also be in the photograph.

A wide-angle view showing the crescent Moon just above the horizon with Venus shining brightly above. The stars of Orion, Pleiades, and Hyades are also visible.
A wide-angle view showing the crescent Moon just above the horizon with Venus shining brightly above. The stars of Orion, Pleiades, and Hyades are also visible.

During late Spring and into early Summer the crescent Moon sets in the west-northwest and this makes it a good target for shooting at Upper Lake Mary. The long and narrow lake is aligned WNW–ESE so that the Moon casts a brilliant reflection that can run the length of the lake.

I’ve shot this several times over the last few years but never tire of it. All it requires is enough of a gap in the clouds for the Moon to shine and for light winds so that the lake surface is relatively smooth.

A zoomed-in view of the crescent Moon with reflection on Lake Mary.
A zoomed-in view of the crescent Moon with reflection on Lake Mary.
As the Moon settles closer to the horizon a thin veil of high clouds adds some interesting texture to the scene.
As the Moon settles closer to the horizon a thin veil of high clouds adds some interesting texture to the scene.

Venus and Pleiades Conjunction—April 2020

During the first few days of April 2020 the planet Venus moved towards and then through the Pleiades star cluster. Venus and Pleiades have a conjunction every year but every eight years the conjunction is at its closest. This year, Venus moved right through the star cluster.

Conjunction of Venus and Pleiades
Conjunction of Venus and Pleiades

I shot images of Venus and Pleiades on three nights: 01 April, 03 April, and 05 April. Venus and Pleiades were closest on the night of 03 April. I then did a composite image of the three nights showing the progression of Venus past the star cluster. These were all shot at 8 seconds, Ć’/4, 180mm, and ISO 800.

Additionally, I overlaid another image taken 13 February 2020. This is a stacked composite with 11 images shot at 120 seconds, Ć’/4, 180mm, and ISO 1600. The images were stacked using Starry Sky Stacker. The stack was then post-processed using rnc_color_stretch. This composite image was used because it shows the nebulosity and color within the Pleiades better than the shorter exposures captured that show the motion of Venus.

Composite image of Venus and Pleiades.
Composite image of Venus and Pleiades.

The image above shows the composite from the three nights without the additional layer showing the nebulosity.