Whatever Weds. Conjunctions

Posted in Astro Conjunctions, Astrophotography, Moon, Moonrise, Nikon, Photography, PlanetsTagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

Copyright ©2020 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

I’ve still got my head in the clouds or tilted upward toward the sky.  This week there is a 3 planet and Moon conjunction going on in the wee hours before dawn and I’ve been up to see it two of the three mornings it’s visible.

Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars are all lined up beside or above the Moon.

Here’s how it appeared in my frame on April 14th, 2020.  All three planets were rising behind the Last Quarter Moon.  I caught a shooting star and a couple of satellites in my image too.   They did look a bit bigger with my eyes but look smaller when photographed.

Moon Jupiter Saturn Mars Shooting Star

Here’s how it looked this morning with all three planets rising above the Waning Crescent Moon (44%).  Jupiter is the brightest planet above and to the right of Saturn which is above the Moon, and Mars is following behind.  It looks like I caught a satellite just left and lower than the Moon again this morning.

Jupiter Saturn Mars and the Moon Apr 15 2020

It’s supposed to start raining tomorrow and cloud up, but if by chance it’s clear tomorrow morning I’ll be up to photograph it.  Tomorrow is the last day to observe them when they’re lined up so nicely then Mars will begin marching further eastward and be pulling further away from the other planets.

 

If you’re up an hour before sunrise on the 16th look southwest or look for the rising moon you can see the conjunction with your eyes no special gear required. Mars will be above and slightly right of the Moon with Saturn and Jupiter above Mars.

By the time first light appears in the morning sky before 6AM for me- dim Saturn and Mars are lost in the light and only Jupiter still burns bright above the moon.

I hope you’re all having a good week, and your spirits are up and you’re busy and well!

Nikon D810| Nikkor 35mm| Lexar Digital Film| PS CC 21.1.1

more to come…

UPDATE!  April 16, 2020 -It was clear this morning and the moon’s light shining in my bedroom window woke me up so I got up and photographed this line up too.  As you see Mars is moving further away from the other two planets. I won’t be getting up and photographing this one again this month. There are other things I have planned this month though. 😀

Waning Crescent Moon Mars Saturn Jupiter

Nikon D810| Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G| PS CC 21.1.1

more to come…

 

 

 

 

64 thoughts on “Whatever Weds. Conjunctions”

      1. Yes, it is more than cool! Who wouldn’t want to see all the wonders in the sky? Thank goodness there are photographers who capture these wonders, like you. I miss Carl Sagan.

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  5. Hi there, this is my first time to visit your blog and I want to say hello.

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  7. Wow, what a beautiful photo shoot of planets. I’ve never in my life seen anything like it, all lining up. Great post! By the way please join my blog too, if you find it interesting – let’s grow together!😊

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  16. Our skies were clear this morning and I thought of you as I looked up at the moon and surrounding glowing dots. My husband shares your enthusiasm for the skies and has been known to drag me outside to witness what he’s seeing.
    If I can see this lovely alignment with all the light pollution we get from a large city, then I can only imagine what it’s like where it is much darker!

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    1. Oh, how neat you were up and saw the Moon rise with the planets! I got lucky and the clouds cleared overnight so the Moon’s light woke me up as it crested the mountains so I raced to get my coat, cap, and gear out to the back patio so I could capture images of the Moon’s rise right above the mountains. You see how much further away Mars is now from Saturn and Jupiter. These last three days were the closest the three would be together.

      There are so many stars out here even with the light pollution I have here. It’s amazing! It’s sometimes harder to find the common constellations when there are so many stars! Who knew?

      LOL! My kids can sympathize with you being dragged out in the middle of the night to look at comets or stars. I did it to them a number of times and they nagged and whined to get home and back to bed.
      Though now they say it was kinda neat. 😀🥰

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        2. You’ll never guess what Baby Girl just texted me. She asked, ” Have you been able to see Venus this week? We’ve been watching it.”

          Oh, how I loved reading that! 😍 Sometimes you do get a confirmation that things are sinking in!

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  20. Wonderful Deborah! And thank you for explaining what to see! I guess, apart from technical skills and knowlegde about the skies, I could not make a picture like this because of light polution we got here. So it’s great to be able to see them posted by you.

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    1. Thank you so much Peter! With a high ISO that early in the morning your camera will see it. You see I have light pollution too from my town in the south, and my neighbors lights are spilling into the edges of my frame on the second image.

      I can give you settings to start with, and you’ll need a steady base like a tripod with ballhead to keep the camera pointed up at the sky. Ping me if you want some pointers!

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  21. Ooooo, way cool, Deborah!! One of the things I have to do while not going out is to take a look at the manual for my Nikon and figure out how to use it other than just point and shoot. I’ve been completely remiss about this and consequently miss some great photo ops. More fun than going through files and organizing, shredding, etc. which I’m doing today (although it has to be done and this is a good time.)

    Happy Wednesday!

    janet

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    1. Which Nikon have you got, Janet? Reading the manual can be confusing, but after you start using the other modes it begins to make sense.

      I’m glad I’m done with the heavy shredding and filing for the year. I feel your pain.

      Happy Wednesday to you too!

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