Venus and Jupiter Conjunction 2016
Over the past couple of weeks the brightest planets in the night sky – Venus and Jupiter – have been putting on a show as they appeared closer and closer together. Saturday August 27 was the closest approach but the weather ruined the show in Hobart. The next night, with clear skies, I managed a few shots.
Venus, Jupiter and Mercury all together in this image. Pentax K1, f4, 20 seconds (with Astrotracer on), ISO 800. 70-200mm lens at 200mm.
Here are a few rather extreme crops on the above:
Venus and Jupiter, cropped. The Galilean moons are visible close to Jupiter here. Pentax K1, f4, 20 seconds (with Astrotracer on), ISO 100. 70-200mm lens at 200mm – cropped.
Labels – Venus is the brightest “star” in the sky due to its proximity to the sun more than its size (it is basically the same size as the earth) and Jupiter is a mini solar system in its own right, with dozens of moons in orbit around it. Three of the brightest can be seen in this crop.
Jupiter and Venus where the main players in the show, but not to be outdone – tiny Mercury was also in the same frame (70-200mm at 200mm).
The same 200mm field of view, including Mercury – the closet planet to the sun, and also the smallest planet in the solar system. Pentax K1, f5.6, 10 seconds (with Astrotracer on), ISO 800.
We have been treated to a few starry nights lately and I have a few more images to share. Fingers crossed for another aurora sometime soon too – it has been a very long time between drinks on the aurora front!
