Planetary Gatherings

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Venus near the Moon, June 2023

Venus (mag -4.6) was a lovely sight below the Crescent Moon in the evening sky, with faint Mars (mag +1.7) looking on towards the east.

Image taken with a Canon DSLR at 55 mm focal-length, with a 5 s exposure. 2023 June 22^nd at 01:35 UT.

Conjunction of Venus and Jupiter, February 2023

A pretty sight in the dusk, through late February into March 2023.

Image taken with a Canon DSLR at 52 mm focal-length, with a 1 s exposure.

Mars passes Jupiter, May 2022

29 May 2022 at 08.10 UT. Bright Jupiter (mag -2.2) with Mars (mag +0.7) just 35' to its lower right. Both planets were a very pretty sight to the naked-eye.

Taken with a Canon DSLR at 55 mm focal-length. 4 s exposure.

Conjunction of Venus and Jupiter, April-May 2022

Left: 28 April. Bright Venus (mag -4.2) with Jupiter (mag -2.1) 2.3 ° away to the lower left. 09:15 UT.

Middle: 29 April. Lovely view of Venus (mag -4.1) with Jupiter (mag -2.1) to the left. Separation 1.4 °. 09:04 UT.

Right: 1 May. Striking close pair of Venus (mag -4.1) and Jupiter (mag -2.1). Jupiter has now moved to the upper right. Separation 31'. 08:51 UT.

All taken with a Canon DSLR at 55 mm focal-length.

Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, 21 December 2020

Bright Jupiter (mag -2.0) with Saturn (mag +0.6) under its glare. 6.2' apart. Canon DSLR.

Left: 2.0 s exposure. 21^st December 2020 at 22:19 UT. Focal length 55 mm.

Right: 70 mm refractor. 21^st December 2020 at 22:09 UT. Focal length 480 mm.

Jupiter and Saturn closing and widening, December 2020

Bright Jupiter (mag -2.0) and Saturn (mag +0.6) are a striking sight to the naked-eye. Canon DSLR. Unless stated all focal lengths are 55 mm. Images left to right:

• 1.1° apart. 2.5 s exposure. 11^th December 2020 at 22:07 UT.
• 39' apart. 2.5 s exposure. 15^th December 2020 at 22:17 UT.
• 20' apart. 0.5 s exposure. Focal length 35 mm. Compare with the crescent Moon. 18^th December 2020 at 22:03 UT.
• Now widening; 9.9' apart. 1.6 s exposure. 22^nd December 2020 at 22:14 UT.
• Now the separation has grown to 35'. 1 s exposure. 26^th December 2020 at 22:11 UT.
• Getting low in the trees. Separation 49'. 0.6 s exposure. 28^th December 2020 at 22:13 UT.

Venus passes Regulus, October 2020

Bright Venus (mag -4.1) passes Regulus (mag 1.4). They were 0.5° apart and striking to the naked-eye. The Sickle of Leo is to the upper left of the pair.

Canon DSLR with a lens set at 40 mm focal length. 4 s exposure. Taken at 09:52 UT on 3^rd October 2020.

Venus and Mercury in May 2020

Venus (mag -4.3) and Mercury (mag -0.6) were 1.6° apart. Venus is just above the trees, with Mercury to the left. Venus was 6° high.

DSLR lens 55 mm focal length. 0.6 s exposure. Cropped. Taken at 01:02 UT on 23^rd May 2020.

Venus passes through M45 in April 2020

Venus (mag -4.6) passed through the Pleiades open star cluster M45 and was still a striking sight on 2020 April 5 at 00:50 UT.

200 mm camera lens at ISO 800. Exposure 10 s with a DSLR (Canon 700D). Venus was then 0.9° E of the brightest Pleiad Alcyone.

Dance of the Planets, October 2015

• On 8^th October, the waning crescent Moon was approaching Venus (mag -4.7). Mars (+1.8) and Jupiter (mag -1.7) were lower towards the horizon. Regulus (mag 1.4) lies 2.6 ° N of Venus. Click on photo to get the complete frame. 4 sec exposure. Cropped. Taken at 09:56 UT.
• By October 10^th the crescent Moon (with Earthshine) was below Jupiter. 10:00 UT.
• By 23^rd October, a gap in the cloud showed the three planets in a fairly tight grouping. Venus and Mars were separated by 4.6°. 6 sec exposure. Taken at about 09:30 UT.
• Venus and Jupiter were closest apart on the 26^th October. The separation was 1.1° when the photo was taken (10.07 UT). Mars was close by.

DSLR Camera at ISO 800. Focal length between 35 mm and 50 mm.

Venus and Jupiter in the evening sky late June / early July 2015

• 30^th June - 1^st July 2015. Venus (mag -4.6) and Jupiter (mag -1.8) were 20' apart. There was a layer of thin cloud, note the halo around Venus. Cropped. Taken at 01:21 UT. Exposure 2 sec.
• By the 4^th - 5^th July they has separated to 1.9°, but they were still a spectacular sight. The sky was much clearer. Taken at 01.11 UT. Cropped. Exposure 1/2 sec.

Both taken with a DSLR zoom lens set at 55 mm focal length, ISO 800.

Venus (mag -3.9) and Mercury (mag -0.8) only 43' apart. They were peering through the trees and power lines. Mercury is 5.9° high.

DSLR lens 200 mm focal length. 1/10 second exposure, ISO 400. Cropped. Taken at 22:12 UT.

• 18^th Aug 2014 was the day of closest approach. Venus (mag -3.8) and Jupiter (mag -1.8) were 16' apart. They had just emerged from cloud during morning twilight. Cropped. Taken at 09:19 UT.
• By the next day (19^th Aug) they has separated a little (to 1.2°), but they were still a spectacular sight in the wonderful clear sky. Taken at 09.14 UT. Cropped.

Both taken with a DSLR zoom lens set at 55 mm focal length, at 1/8 second. In the foreground is Topsfield Town Hall, MA, USA.

Left: Ceres (mag 7.3) approaches Vesta (mag 6.1), 2.6° apart and closing. Also in Virgo is Mars (mag -1.2). DSLR zoom lens at 55 mm focal length. 10 second exposure. 25^thMarch 2014 at 07:56 UT.

Right: Conjunction of asteroids Ceres and Vesta, only 11.7' apart. 2014 July 7. CCD camera on 106 mm refractor. 2014 July 7^th at 01.44 UT.

Venus (mag -3.8) with Mercury (mag -0.6) 3° above. Below Venus Jupiter (mag -1.9), suffering high atmospheric extinction, is deep within the red twilight glow.

DSLR zoom lens at 100 mm focal length. 1/15 second exposures. Cropped. Taken on 29^th May 2013 at 21:32 UT.

Uranus is almost a perfect match for 5.8 mag type G5 star 44 Piscium. They were separated by 1.3'.

106 mm f/5.0 refractor and CCD. 3x1 second exposures. South up and the Field of View is 45'x30'. Taken on 23^th Sep 2012 at 01:16 UT.

Dawn parade of Venus, Jupiter and the Moon in July 2012

Venus (mag -4.7) and Jupiter (mag -2.1) pass near the Hyades star cluster (at this stage with only the first magnitude star Aldebaran showing - the rest are lost in the dawn brightness). The waning crescent moon enhances the scene. 2012 July 15 at 08:39 UT.

DSLR Zoom Telephoto Lens at 100 mm focal length. Exposure 0.6 s at ISO 400.

Venus passes M45 in April 2012

Venus (mag -4.5) passes just south of the Pleiades open star cluster M45. 2012 April 3 at 00:55 UT.

106 mm refractor at f/5 at ISO 400. Exposure 15 s with a DSLR. The field is 2.4° x 1.6°. North is up.

Venus and Jupiter (February-March 2012)

1: Venus approaching Jupiter, with the Moon (with earthshine) looking on, making a lovely sight. The planets are now separated by 15° and closing. The Moon is just 4° from Jupiter. Jupiter was magnitude -2.2 and Venus was -4.2.

Imaged with a DSLR Camera (55mm focal length) on the 26^th February 2012 at 23.14 UT. 2 second exposure at ISO 800. Full frame. North Andover, MA.

2: The two bright planets (now 8.6° apart) are joined by Mercury.

Imaged with a DSLR Camera (27mm focal length) on the 4^th March 2012 at 23.18 UT. 1.5 second exposure at ISO 800. Nearly full frame. Freeport, ME (the carpark of an Outlet!).

3: The two bright planets (3.0° apart) are at closest separation.

Imaged with a DSLR Camera (44 mm focal length) on the 13^th March 2012 at 20.15 UT. 10 second exposure at ISO 800. Full frame. Partly cloudy, orange glow from sodium lights. Rush, Co Dublin.

4: Jupiter (at bottom) and Venus near the Hyades and the Pleiades.

Imaged with a DSLR Camera (23 mm focal length) on the 21^th March 2012 at 20.44 UT. 39 second exposure at ISO 1600, not driven. Slightly cropped. From Villierstown, Co Waterford.

Uranus appears in the same telescopic field as Venus in Pisces. Uranus lies only 19' south-east of Venus. Venus (overexposed) is magnitude -4.1, while Uranus is magnitude 5.9. This translates to a 10,000 fold difference in brightness!.

Detail from 70 mm f/6.8 refractor and DSLR. 0.7 second exposure at ISO 3200. Undriven. Taken on 9^thFebruary 2011 at 23:51 UT.

Jupiter and Mercury together in the dusk March 2011

Mercury passed 2° north of Jupiter, low in the evening sky. Jupiter was magnitude -2.1 and Mercury was -1.0. Imaged with a DSLR Camera (133mm focal length) on the 15^th March 2011 at 19.33 UT. 1 and 1/2 second exposure at ISO 400. Slightly cropped. Co Dublin.

Uranus and Jupiter conjuction in January 2011

Uranus appears in the same telescopic field as Jupiter. Uranus lies only about ½° north of Jupiter and its moons. Detail from 130 mm f/8 refractor and DSLR (Canon 500D). 8 second exposure at ISO 400. Light pollution filter used. Taken on 3^rd January 2011 at 18:31 UT.

The key to the visible Galilean Moons of Jupiter is: II = Europa; III = Ganymede; IV = Callisto. Hip 117614 is a 7.9 magnitude star.

Venus on 18 Nov 2010 via Skype

Venus as viewed from Topsfield, Ma, USA on Skype (via Sara). The altitude of Venus was 15.5 degrees in mid-twilight. 05.52 EST. Spica was just to the top right. Although the webcam lens did not pick up Spica, it was visible to the naked-eye.

Venus and Mercury in March/April 2010

Venus and Mercury hang together in the western sky. Telephoto lens set at 133 mm focal length. 0.5 second exposure, ISO 200. Image cropped. From Co Dublin. 27^th March 2010 at 19:39 UT. Venus was magnitude -3.9 and Mercury -1.2.

By April 7^th they were much closer (3.3°). Telephoto lens set at 100 mm focal length. 1.5 second exposure, ISO 200. 20:15 UT. Image cropped. From Co Dublin. Venus was magnitude -3.9 and Mercury -0.1.

On April 16^th the 'new' crescent Moon had joined the group. By then, Mercury had faded to magnitude 1.4. Image cropped. Telephoto lens set at 92 mm focal length. 2 second exposure, ISO 200. The atmosphere was hazy due to the dust from the Icelandic volcano near the Eyjafjallajökull glacier.

Neptune and Jupiter in the same field in December 2009

Neptune appears in the same telescopic field as Jupiter. Neptune lies only about ½° north of Jupiter and its moons. Detail from 130 mm f/8 refractor and DSLR. 3 second exposure at ISO 400. The orange glow is from a near-by sodium street light. Taken on 21^st December 2009 at 17:55 UT.

The key to the four Galilean Moons of Jupiter is: I = Io; II = Europa; III = Ganymede; IV = Callisto.

Moon, Venus and Jupiter in December 2008

The conjunction, Venus is near the moon. 60 mm f/5.9 refractor. 1.5 second exposure (not driven). From Loughshinny, Co Dublin. 1^st December 2008 at 17:36 UT. Earlier that day, during the afternoon, the moon covered (or occulted) Venus.

Crescent Moon near M45 in March 2008  

The Moon and the Pleiades. 70 mm f/6.8 refractor. 6 second exposure. 12^th March 2008 at 20:09 UT.

Mercury and Venus together in the dawn December 2004

Mercury 1° above Venus, just above the trees. Venus was mag -3.9 and Mercury was -0.3. Imaged with a digital camera on the 30^th December 2004 at 07.37 UT from Sandyford, Dublin. 1/2 second at ISO 100.

Planetary Triangle: Venus, Saturn & Mars in May 2002

Taken on 5^th May 2002 showing a Venus, Saturn and Mars (in order of brightness) forming a triangle. The star El Nath (Beta Tauri) is at top. From Dundrum, Dublin.

Taken with a 50 mm camera lens camera (detail). 1/2 second exposure on Ektachrome 400 slide film.

Mercury and Venus in the dawn October 2001

Taken on the morning of 2001 Oct 31. Fainter Mercury (mag. -0.7) is to the upper left of bright Venus (mag. -3.9), the two planets then were then only a little over a half a degree apart. From Dundrum, Dublin.

Shot with a 50 mm camera lens (detail). 1/2 second exposure on Fujichrome 200 slide film.

Venus near M45 in April 1988  

Venus and the Pleiades. 210 mm telephoto lens. Undriven. Fujichrome 400 slide film. 4^th April 1988 at about 21h UT. Brilliant Venus (mag -4.5) was 1.5° from the cluster.

Venus and the Moon in the dusk, April 1986

Taken at about 20 h on 1986 April 10. Bright Venus (mag. -3.9) is upper-left of the 1.6 day old Crescent Moon. The two objects were then 3° apart. From Parque Nacional del Teide, Tenerife, Canary Islands.

Shot with SLR and a 50 mm lens. 1/2 second exposure on Fujichrome 200 slide film.