Saturn – Circadianreflections Blog

Whatever Weds. The Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn

December 23, 2020December 22, 2020Posted in Conjunctions, Fuji X-T3, Night Sky Imaging, Nikon, Whatever WednesdayTagged Astro Photography, Crescent Moon, Fuji, Jupiter, Jupiter's Moons, Low Light Photography, Nikon, Saturn, The Great Conjunction of 2020, Whatever Wednesday47 Comments

I was pretty excited to see the Great Conjunction as I’m sure most of you were too, so I hoped for clear skies to be able to photograph it. On the 16th of December the crescent moon, Jupiter, and Saturn were fairly close to each other and it was a clear sky so I photographed it from my patio. It was cloudy all day but cleared pretty well but the wispy contrails and remaining clouds made the sky a bit more interesting. Can you spy the ski runs at Heavenly Ski Resort? X marks the spot.

Crescent Moon, Jupiter, and Saturn over the Carson Spur.

It was clear on Monday the 21st so I went out with my long lens to get a closer look at the conjunction. I had to crop it in for it to be a good look even at 400mm, but I was able to see 3 of Jupiter’s Moons too. The 3 tiny dots are the Moons.

Jupiter, 3 Moons, and Saturn. The Great Conjunction of 2020

Saturn’s rings are not defined which is disappointing, but I saw the Great Conjunction! Did you look for it?

I wish all those celebrating Christmas a very Merry Christmas, and those who aren’t I wish you a very Joyous Week!

Nikon D810| Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8 and Fuji X-T3| Fuji 100-400mm| PS CC 22.1

more to come…

Wordless Weds. Perseids and the Milky Way

August 12, 2020August 11, 2020Posted in Astro-Imaging, Astro-Photography, Milky Way, Nikon, Perseid Meteor Shower, Photography, Wide Field Astro-photographyTagged bridge, Clouds, Jupiter, Light Pollution, Milky Way, Nikon, Nikon Legacy glass, Perseids 2020, Pond, Saturn, Trees, windy46 Comments

The last bridge to the stars perhaps?

Persied Meteors and the Milky Way — Copyright ©2020 Deborah M. Zajac ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Nikon D810| Nikkor 18mm f/3.5 Ais| PS CC 21.2.1| Single Frame

more to come…

Whatever Weds. The Milky Way

April 29, 2020April 29, 2020Posted in Milky Way, Night Sky Imaging, Nikon, Photography, Stars and Planets, Whatever WednesdayTagged Carson Valley, Jupiter, Light Pollution, Milky Way, Pinenut Mountains, Planets, Saturn, Stars, telephone poles, what to do in the wee hours of the morning, Whatever Wednesday48 Comments

I woke up really early last week and the sky was cloudless so I thought I’d go out back and photograph the Milky Way. The light-pollution is worse than I remember! This was at 3:49 A M!

Jupiter and Saturn are still shining brightly over the Pinenut Mountains. Mars has marched so far East it’s out of the frame.

Milky Way from my Patio_DMZ8560

What do you do when you wake up in the wee hours of the mornin?

Nikon D810|Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G| SunDisk Digital Film| PS CC 21.1.1

more to come…

Whatever Weds. Conjunctions

April 15, 2020April 16, 2020Posted in Astro Conjunctions, Astrophotography, Moon, Moonrise, Nikon, Photography, PlanetsTagged Conjuctions, Hot Springs Mountain, Jupiter, Mars, Moon, Nevada Sky, Night sky, O'Dark Thirty, Pinenut Mountains, Satellites, Saturn, Shooting Star64 Comments

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.

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.

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. 😀

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

more to come…

Wild Weds. 37/52 The Night was Still and Full of Stars

September 12, 2018September 11, 2018Posted in After Dark Imaging, Nikon, Photography, Wild WednesdayTagged After-Dark, Mars, Milky Way, Nikon, Photography, Saturn, Stars, Wild Wednesday, Windmill39 Comments

Over Labor Day week-end myself and several friends were back in the Eastern Sierras. I love it over there. This time we ventured further south.

We spent our evenings photographing the stars. This image I made on our last night there.

Windmill Eastern Sierras

I caught a shooting star above Mars, and Saturn is the bright star in the center of the Milky Way’s Dark lane about even with the top horizontal rung on the windmill. I didn’t know I had managed to catch the shooting star in my frame until I got home and uploaded my images.

The light pollution on the horizon is coming from the town of Bishop I believe.

I hope you’re all having a great week! Yeah, halfway to the week-end!

Nikon D810| Nikkor 16mm f/2.8| Lexar Digital Film| PS CC 2018

more to come…

Waning Crescent Moon and Saturn over Vasona Lake

January 16, 2015Posted in Astro Conjunctions, Astro Imaging, Astrophotograhpy, Los Gatos CA, Moon, Northern California, Planets, Reflections, Vasona LakeTagged Antares, Astro Conjunctions, Astro-imaging, Dawn, Los Gatos CA, Moon, Northern California, Reflections, Saturn, Vasona Lake6 Comments

I usually check out the sky first thing when I wake up so, this morning when I raised my blinds and saw the Moon with Saturn shining in the cloudy sky I realized they would be lining up high over the lake, and footbridge.
So, I got dressed, grabbed a quick cup of tea, and slice of toast and headed to the lake.

It was still dark when I arrived. The Geese weren’t even up yet! I kept my eye on the sky and clouds. It didn’t look too good when I got down to the lake. The Moon was completely blocked by the clouds, but I hoped for pockets, and breaks and just after dawn the clouds cleared enough.

I used a wide angle lens to be able to capture this whole scene so the Moon, Saturn that little white dot to the right of the Moon, and the fainter Antares below the Moon to the right are really teenie.

I was thrilled there was color this morning too.

This is a single frame processed in Photoshop CS6.

More to come…

The Moon and Martian Triangle

August 24, 2012August 24, 2012Posted in Astrophotograhpy, California, PhotographyTagged Astrophotography, Mars, Martian Triangle, Moon, Nikon D700, Photography, Prime lenses, Saturn, SpicaLeave a comment

The Moon and Martian Triangle, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.

I had to be up rather early for work so I didn’t stray farther than the end of my driveway to take a photograph of the Martian Triangle with the Moon before it set.
If I’m not mistaken above the Moon is Spica, to the right of the Moon is Mars. Above Mars is Saturn. Please tell me if I got that mixed up. Thank you Jackie for telling me about my error. It’s corrected now!

See the “Martian Triangle” in the Sky Tonight! (universetoday.com)
Have You Noticed The Martian Triange In The Sky? (fox41blogs.typepad.com)
Young crescent moon, Spica, Mars and Saturn in August 20 sky (earthsky.org)
Waxing crescent moon, Spica, Saturn and Mars in evening sky (earthsky.org)

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