The Great Conjunction, Saturn and Jupiter with Visible Moons at 300mm

I didn't have high hopes to get a glimpse of the great conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter this month. I've gotten my hopes up too many times and gotten burned by Indiana weather in December. Like my husband says, better to be pessimistic and pleasantly surprised if it works out. When I saw the clouds clearing up a bit this evening around sunset, I dusted off my camera and tripod. 

The conjunction wasn't visible at first, so I used a great iPhone app one-two punch to find what I was looking for. First I opened Star Walk and found Saturn, then clicked for more information to get the exact altitude (degrees above the horizon) and azimuth (horizontal degrees clockwise from true north). So this gave me the numbers for where Saturn should appear.

Next, I use one of my absolute favorite apps called Theodolite that uses the camera with on-screen display that shows altitude, azimuth, lets you take screen shots, and a whole bunch of other things. It feels like a professional grade surveyor app. So knowing Saturn should be about 15° above the horizon and 222° SW it was a snap finding where I should be pointing to make sure I had a clear view over the tree line. 

Once the sky got a little darker it was obvious because Jupiter and Saturn are so bright, but I think the planning helped me decide if I should even bother setting up in the backyard or if my view would be completely blocked. 

I was pleased I could get some trees in the foreground rather than just the conjunction against a wash background. Here's what I got...

Jupiter and Saturn taken with DSLR on fixed tripod, 300mm, f/5.6, ISO 800, 0.3 sec

Same photo as above with labels added

Screen shot of Theodolite app tagging the Alt/Az of the conjunction and timestamp

I learned from the my comet Neowise photo that if I tweet at Sean Ash he'll sometimes feature astronomical photos on the WHTR Indianapolis channel 13 evening news, and sure enough he asked if he could feature the photo that same night. I'm famous! 

Traffic Jam of Planets in Morning Rush Hour Sky

Look to the East just before sunrise to see a veritable traffic jam of planets rising above the horizon. I snapped this photo of 4 planets all in one shot yesterday at 7:09am in Indiana. Quite the collection! I believe 4 planets in one shot is my record (5 if you count the houses that are here on planet Earth).

Keep an eye on this group over the next few weeks. Jupiter, Venus, and Mars will get closer together and will be joined again by the moon on November 6 - November 7, 2015.

Canon T5i, ISO 400, 24mm, f/5.6, 5 sec

The moon will join the party again on the mornings of November 6th and 7th but by then Mercury will tuck back down below the horizon. See ya later Mercury!

Moon joins the conjunction of Jupiter, Mars, and Venus on November 6-7, 2015

October 9, 2015 Conjunction: Moon, Mars, Venus, Jupiter

Chris texted me to go outside and look at the moon and a bunch of stars. When I got out there I noticed a conjunction between the crescent moon, Venus and Jupiter, and I didn't notice until I looked it up in my StarWalk app that Mars was in the mix as well!

The 3 planets show up well in photos, and the white/blue star Regulus is a nice addition as well. I had some thin clouds obstructing my view, but that made for an interesting glowing orb effect in the longer exposures. Venus looks like a smaller second moon glowing in the morning sky!

Cropped single shot from Canon T5i - f/5.6, 6 sec, ISO 800, 34mm

Single shot Canon T5i, f/5.6, 6 sec, ISO 800, 34mm

Single shot Canon T5i, f/5.6, ISO 400, 55mm, 1.3 sec

Crescent Moon and Venus as Celestial Chimney Sweeps

Chris and I saw the setting crescent moon with Venus as we came out of the Target parking lot on Sunday night. I figured by the time I got home the twilight would be gone completely and I'd just get another typical moon with Venus conjunction photo.

I waited a while longer until the pair was closer to the horizon, and I got rewarded with this scene! The waxing crescent moon with Venus on opposite sides of my neighbor's chimney. It was very whimsical. Whimsy is a word I'm learning to detest because in gardening it means throwing crap like ceramic frogs wearing overalls in your garden - but in skywatching, it means feeling transported to a sci-fi fantasy land where celestial chimney sweeps are commonplace.

Single frame, Canon T5i, f/7.1, 1.6 sec, ISO 1600, 125mm

Single frame, Canon T5i, f/7.1, 2 sec, ISO 1600, 160mm

Single frame, Canon T5i, f/7.1, 2 sec, ISO 1600, 75mm

What a happy accident! The above photo turned out to be one of my favorite from the year, and I didn't even plan on photographing the conjunction ahead of time. These suburban rooflines are becoming very handy foreground objects for moon photo.

Single frame, Canon T5i, f/7.1, 1.3 sec, ISO 1600, 300mm

Venus and Mars February 23, 2015

I got clouded out for the great triple conjunction of Venus, Mars, and the Moon on February 20 - but a few days later, our neighbor planets were still fairly close together in the sky. I caught them setting to the west over my neighbor's house.

I tried some different exposure settings, including high f-stop number to create a spiked lens flare around bright Venus. Chris wasn't too happy that I stepped outside to take photos right when dinner was ready, so after a few shots I came back inside for Taco Night.  :)

Single frame, Canon T5i, ISO 1600, 105mm, f/5.6, 1.3 sec

Single frame, Canon T5i, ISO 1600, 135mm, f/5.6, 1.3 sec

Single frame, Canon T5i, ISO 1600, 135mm, f/5.6, 1.3 sec

Single frame, Canon T5i, ISO 1600, 300mm, f/7.1, 1.3 sec, this one has my favorite lens flare around Venus

Single frame, Canon T5i, ISO 1600, 300mm, f/11, 1.3 sec

Mars and Venus Dating in February

I've heard that men are from Mars and women are from Venus, so it seemed fitting that the two planets seemed to chase each other into the sunset on Valentine's Day. The bright evening star Venus shone bright high above the horizon, but it wasn't until I got the photos onto my computer that I noticed fainter Mars to the upper left.

Single frame, Canon T5i, f/8, 0.8 sec, ISO 400, 50mm

Single frame, Canon T5i, f/8, 1.3 sec, ISO 400, 30mm

Keep an eye on the two over the next few days, as the couple will get closer together. I guess you could say the pair got together on Valentine's Day, got closer over time - finally, on February 20, the planets will have a kinky 3-way with the slim crescent moon after sunset. I doubt the 50 Shades of Grey movie includes planetary conjunctions haha!

Mars, Venus and the Moon within 2° on February 20th, screenshot from Stellarium

Crescent Moon and Saturn Conjunction January 16, 2015

I was writing the previous blog post and looked into Stellarium to see the separation of Venus and Mercury but I was distracted by the Moon and Saturn in conjunction - I didn't even realize! I looked out the back window and sure enough there they were hanging out in the pre-dawn light.

Refine edge layer composite photo

I tried something a little different with this composite photo (above) and I'm not quite sure I pulled it off. It's definitely borderline tacky, but I'm working on it. It's a composite photo with one longer exposure to show the earthshine on the dark side of the crescent moon, and an appropriately exposed crescent moon photo to show the crater details. Combining them in a believable way is the tricky part!

Above: The crater detail moon is ISO 200, 300mm, f/11, 1/25 sec; the earthshine layer is ISO 200, 300mm, f/9, 1.3 sec with the brightness turned up even more. I used the refine edge tool in Photoshop to try to blend the layers.

Below: This is the kind of composite I'm familiar with, it's a simple crop composite of two different exposures, one for the moon and one for Saturn. In this one, Saturn is at ISO 200, 300mm, f/11, 1 sec; the moon is as ISO 200, 300mm, f/11, 1/25 sec.

Simple crop composite photo

Venus Mercury Conjunction January 9, 2015

The two inner planets, Venus and Mercury, put on a dance that lasted several days in the evening sky. I was able to photograph them in a close conjunction just before they disappeared behind the roofline of my neighbor's house.

Venus and Mercury just above the roofline - composite image

I tried something a little different this time, and used two different exposures to create a composite image that shows a more true-to-life view of what they scene looked like. The foreground shot of the house is at ISO 800, 75mm, f/11, 1 sec. The background sky is the same settings with shorter exposure time of 1/20 sec. 

I combined them using Photoshop and the refine edge feature in the Selection tool. I noticed that you can preview the edge on top of a background layer to see if the blending looks natural and if the edge of the selection is too sharp or too feathery. The photo on the left is the foreground shot, and then I remove the sky to reveal the layer behind it which is the longer exposure for the sky. 

Refine edge tool in Photoshop to blend the two exposures

I think it turned out pretty good! It looks natural, which is what I was going for. I don't like to over-process my photos but this one I think is a mild alteration. 

Venus and Mercury, Single frame, Canon T5i, ISO 800, 300mm, f/11, 1/25 sec

Here is the kind of shot I normally take, a close up of the conjunction at 300mm with the roofline visible. I used a higher f-stop number to keep the roof line in focus as much as I could - it also cleans up the shape of the planets keeping them round.

I took these photos out my kitchen sliding door. I don't recommend it usually, because heat from inside escaping outside will cause atmospheric distortion in front of your target. However, it was cold and I was lazy, and this was a good quick setup for me.

 

What's That Star Next to the Moon? September 27, 2014

What is that bright star next to the moon? Well tonight it's not a star, it's the planet Saturn. At magnitude 1.3, it's about as bright as Deneb (α Cyg) or Regulus (α Cyg), and clearly stands out less than 3° from the crescent Moon.

Single frame with Canon T5i, f/5.6, 1 sec, ISO 800, 300mm

August 31 Moon, Saturn, Mars Conjunction

Look to the southwest after sunset on Sunday night, August 31, 2014. You'll see a triangle of Saturn, Mars, and the 35% illuminated Moon smack in the middle of the constellation Libra. They will all be about 3-4º apart, so not the closest conjunction of the year, but still a nice show if you have clear skies to the west.

It should be a real treat to welcome September weather, with longer nights and the beginning of cooler evening temperatures. I love stargazing in the Fall, and I'm looking for a break to this Indiana jungle humidity that's been sitting over the state for the past week!

Moon, Saturn and Mars smack in the middle of Libra on the evening of August 31, 2014. Screenshot from Stellarium.

Close Conjunction of Venus and Jupiter, August 18, 2014

I've been waking up earlier for work with my longer commute from Noblesville, this made it easy to spot the progression of Venus and Jupiter in the sky at 6:08am. On August 16 I saw bright Venus to the upper right of fainter Jupiter, and on August 18 they had switched positions with Jupiter slightly to the right of Venus. It was rather hazy, and I'm glad I saw the pair at all in the yellow pre-dawn glow.

Single exposure, T5i, f/4.5, 1.6 sec, ISO 400, 135mm

From our perspective, the two were less than 1/2° apart (17 arcminutes according to Stellarium, but at those distances who knows how precise that is). I believe it's the closest conjunction I've seen. Another good one was the Mercury/Mars conjunction in February 2013 that was 22 arcminutes according to Stellarium.

Single exposure, T5i, f/5.6, 0.8 sec, ISO 1600, 300mm

Single exposure, T5i, f/4.5, 1.6 sec, ISO 400, 135mm

Single exposure, T5i, f/5.6, 3.2 sec, ISO 400, 55mm

I didn't realize it at the time, but upon closer inspection you can actually make out 3 of Jupiter's moons in my image at 300mm. With the moons to show a little scale, you can tell just how close together the two bodies appear to be! If you read the labels backwards you get a photo of "Jupiter Moons Venus"...

Venus and Jupiter Morning Conjunction, August 2014

Venus and Jupiter are moving toward each other (from our perspective) and will be very close 45 minutes before sunrise on August 18, 2014 (less than 1/2˚ separation). The pair will rise to the East, so if you want to look for them, find a location with an unobstructed view of the horizon.

We are supposed to have clouds the next few days, but here is Venus (brighter) and Jupiter on August 15 at 6:09am.

Single exposure, T5i, ISO 400, 55mm, f/5.6, 3.2 sec

Update: I was able to catch the super close conjunction of Venus and Jupiter a few days later on August 18.

Crescent Moon and Venus Rising at Dawn April 26, 2014

The 9% crescent moon rose alongside Venus this morning a little after 5:00am. The pair were about 8° apart, making it sort of a conjunction, not spectacular, but something interesting to look at on the weekend! Yes, waking up at 5am to take the dog out, seeing that the moon will rise in 5 minutes, and staying up to photograph it and then blog about it are my ideas of fun on the weekend.

Single frame at f/6.3, 2 sec, ISO 800, 85mm white balance in Photoshop

Single frame at f/7.1, 1.3 sec, ISO 1600, 300mm white balance in Photoshop

Single frame at f/6.3, 1.3 sec, ISO 800, 300mm

Single frame at f/5.6, 1 sec, ISO 1600, 300mm original color

Single frame at f/5.6, 1 sec, ISO 1600, 300mm white balance in Photoshop

Single frame at f/9, 1.3 sec, ISO 800, 300mm, contrast in Photoshop

Single frame at f/9, 1.3 sec, ISO 800, 75mm original color

It was a major pain in the butt shooting toward oncoming traffic, and toward so many lights from my apartment complex and the warehouse across the street. The warehouse just recently added even more lights to their parking lot that sits empty all night.

Mars, Moon, Spica Conjunction July 5, 2014

On July 5, 2014, the night of my sister's birthday, and my friend Ryan's wedding, the Moon will be within half a degree of the planet Mars, and the pair will both be about 3 degrees from the 15th brightest star Spica. It should be a bright and interesting summer night conjunction!

The position you see here is based on my location in Indiana. In South America the moon will actually move in front of Mars. This is known as an occultation, e.g. the moon will "occult" Mars.

Every time I poke around in Stellarium I find new and interesting events. I suppose I could have just looked at the 101 Astronomical Events for 2014, but stumbling upon conjunctions is fun too.

Screen capture from Stellarium software

Earthshine 12% Crescent Moon with Venus Conjunction, February 26, 2014

Earthshine on a crescent moon is probably my favorite thing ever, and my partner Chris knows this - that's why he called me at 6:00am on his way to work to tell me about the "crescent moon with earthshine a few feet away from the planet Venus." I swear he's learning so much just by listening to me ramble.

I was super curious what he meant by "a few feet" so I decided to take Katie outside and check it out for myself. Boy was he right! There, just above a tree, was the waning 12% crescent moon about 5° from Venus. I used my fist at arms length (which approximates 10°) and decided that it was about half that distance. Looking it up on Stellarium, it's actually a bit closer, more like 4°39' separation. Very cool!

Single exposure with white balance taken at 1.6 sec, ISO 800, 75mm, f/5.0

Single exposure with white balance taken at 1.6 sec, ISO 800, 180mm, f/5.6

If it weren't 7°F and windy, I would probably have stayed out to watch the full sunrise with Mercury peeking above the horizon just before the sun. Because of the wind, I've learned to take a lot of frames each at the same settings. This lighter weight T5i camera is easy on the wrists for handheld shooting, but doesn't stay put in a breeze.

Here are some additional exposures of the conjunction.

Single exposure at 1.6 sec, ISO 200, 180mm, f/5.6

Single exposure at 1.6 sec, ISO 100, 180mm, f/5.6

Single exposure at 1/60 sec, ISO 100, 180mm, f/5.6

Single frame at 1.6 sec, ISO 200, 75mm, f/5.0