Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Astrophotos: Crescent Moon, Mercury and Venus Together in the Sky

Last night (June 10, 2013) the two innermost worlds of our Solar System visible were joined by a very slender waxing crescent Moon, just over two days after New phase (see our preview of the event here). Several of our readers managed to capture this beautiful twilight triple conjunction. Our lead image is from Adrian New, who went to the Municipal Airport in Castroville, Texas to view the conjunction. “There was a rotating beacon light that would illuminate the planes wing tips at intervals, so I would wait to trip the shutter to capture the effect,” New said via email. This image was taken with a Nikon D800 and a 24-70mm F/2.8 lens set at 70mm @ ISO 2000 and a 1/2 second exposure.

Venus (low) and Mercury (high) were joined by a beautiful 4% dark-orange colored slice of Moon, with clouds adding a bit of drama in the skies over the Sulmona, Abruzzo region of Italy. Credit and copyright: Giuseppe Petricca.
Venus (low) and Mercury (high) were joined by a beautiful 4% dark-orange colored slice of Moon, with clouds adding a bit of drama in the skies over the Sulmona, Abruzzo region of Italy. Credit and copyright: Giuseppe Petricca.

Giuseppe Petricca from the Tuscany region of Italy said he felt lucky to manage to photograph the conjunction, “because the clouds were ‘a bit’ in the way, but also contributed positively to give a nice frame to the whole conjunction.” Giuseppe used a Nikon P90 Bridge digital camera, ISO 100, f5.6, 1/3″. Processed later with Photoshop to increase contrast to enhance the two planets in the sky.

4% Crescent Moon, Mercury, and Venus seen from Lost Mountain, Georgia, USA. Credit and copyright: Stephen Rahn.
4% Crescent Moon, Mercury, and Venus seen from Lost Mountain, Georgia, USA. Credit and copyright: Stephen Rahn.
The Moon joined Venus and Mercury in the clear sky near Salem, Missouri, USA. Credit and copyright: Joe Schuster, Lake County Astronomical Society.
The Moon joined Venus and Mercury in the clear sky near Salem, Missouri, USA. Credit and copyright: Joe Schuster, Lake County Astronomical Society.
The crescent Moon forms a triangle with Venus and Mercury. Taken near Las Vegas on June 10, 2013. Credit and copyright: John Lybrand.
The crescent Moon forms a triangle with Venus and Mercury. Taken near Las Vegas on June 10, 2013. Credit and copyright: John Lybrand.
The view of Venus, Mercury and the Moon from Ankara, Turkey on June 11, 2013, 21:10 UTC. Credit and copyright: Yuksel Kenaroglu (Canon A40.0, ISO: 50)
The view of Venus, Mercury and the Moon from Ankara, Turkey on June 11, 2013, 21:10 UTC. Credit and copyright: Yuksel Kenaroglu
(Canon A40.0, ISO: 50)

Just a reminder to keep looking at sunset for the elusive planet Mercury. As UT writer David Dickinson said in his preview article, if you’ve never seen Mercury, this week is a great time to try.