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Planets conjunction over Mont-Saint-Michel, Normandy, France on May 26. Credit: Thierry Legault -
www.astrophoto.fr
Triple planets (Venus/Jupiter/Mercury) conjunction over Mont-Saint-Michel, Normandy, France on May 26. Credit: Thierry Legault – www.astrophoto.fr Update: See expanded Conjunction astrophoto gallery below[/caption]
The rare astronomical coincidence of a spectacular triangular triple conjunction of 3 bright planets happening right now is certainly wowing the entire World of Earthlings! That is if our gallery of astrophotos assembled here is any indication.
Right at sunset, our Solar System’s two brightest planets – Venus and Jupiter – as well as the sun’s closest planet Mercury are very closely aligned for about a week in late May 2013 – starting several days ago and continuing throughout this week.
And, for an extra special bonus – did you know that a pair of spacecraft from Earth are orbiting two of those planets?
Have you seen it yet ?
Well you’re are in for a celestial treat. The conjunction is visible to the naked eye – look West to Northwest shortly after sunset. No telescopes or binoculars needed.
Triple conjunction shot on May 26 from a mile high in Payson,Az. 4 second exposure, ISO200, Canon 10D, 80mm f/5 lens. Credit: Chris Schur- http://www.schursastrophotography.com
Just check out our Universe Today collection of newly snapped astrophoto’s and videos sent to Nancy and Ken by stargazing enthusiasts from across the globe. See an earlier gallery – here.
Throughout May, the trio of wandering planets have been gradually gathering closer and closer.
On May 26 and 27, Venus, Jupiter and Mercury appear just 3 degrees apart as a spectacular triangularly shaped object in the sunset skies – which
adds a palatial pallet of splendid hues not possible at higher elevations.
And don’t dawdle if you want to see this celestial feast. The best times are 30 to 60 minutes after sunset – because thereafter they’ll disappear below the horizon.
The sky show will continue into late May as the planets alignment changes every day.
On May 28, Venus and Jupiter close in to within just 1 degree.
And on May 30 & 31, Venus, Jupiter and Mercury will form an imaginary line in the sky.
Triple planetary conjunctions are a rather rare occurrence. The last one took place in May 2011. And we won’t see another one until October 2015.
Indeed the wandering trio are also currently the three brightest planets visible. Venus is about magnitude minus 4, Jupiter is about minus 2.
While you’re enjoying the fantastic view, ponder this: The three planets are also joined by two orbiting spacecraft from humanity. NASA’s MESSENGER is orbiting Mercury. ESA’s Venus Express is orbiting Venus. And NASA’s Juno spacecraft is on a long looping trajectory to Jupiter.
Send Ken you conjunction photos to post here.
And don’t forget to “Send Your Name to Mars” aboard NASA’s MAVEN orbiter- details here. Deadline: July 1, 2013
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Learn more about Conjunctions, Mars, Curiosity, Opportunity, MAVEN, LADEE and NASA missions at Ken’s upcoming lecture presentations:
June 4: “Send your Name to Mars” and “CIBER Astro Sat, LADEE Lunar & Antares Rocket Launches from Virginia”; Rodeway Inn, Chincoteague, VA, 8:30 PM
June 11: “Send your Name to Mars” and “LADEE Lunar & Antares Rocket Launches from Virginia”; NJ State Museum Planetarium and Amateur Astronomers Association of Princeton (AAAP), Trenton, NJ, 730 PM.
May 25 conjunction over Malta. Canon 450D with a 55mm. lens and an exposure of 1/2 second at ISO 200 on a tripod. Credit: Leonard Ellul-MercerMay 26 triple conjunction from Warwick, NY snapped from Canon Rebel, 100mm – 300mm lens. Credit: Pietro CarboniTriple conjunction from Hondo, Texas taken with a Nikon D800 @ ISO 400 and a 2 second exposure with a Nikon 300mm Lens at F/4. Credit: Adrian New Sunset conjunction with fast moving clouds on May 26 through 10 x 50 binoculars from a seashore town -Marina di Pisa, Tuscany, Italy. Credit: Giuseppe Petricca
Caption: Taken on 2013-05-23 from Salem, Missouri. Canon T1i, Nikkor 105mm lens. 297 1/4s at 1s interval. Images assembled by QuickTime Pro. Credit: Joseph Shuster
May 26 sunset conjunction from Princeton, NJ. Credit: Ken Kremer -kenkremer.comTriple Planetary conjunction over Onset MA. Shot with a Nikon d7000 1/200 f 4 iso 100 at 110mm. Credit: Phillip DamianoPanoramic view over Almada City and Lisbon at the Nautical Twilight, with the Full moon rising above the Eastern horizon (right side of the image), while at the same time but in the opposite direction, the planets Venus, Mercury and Jupiter, are aligned in a triangle formation, setting in the Western horizon (left side of the image).In this panoramic picture is also visible the smooth light transition in the sky, with the end of Nautical Twilight and the beginning of Astronomical Twilight (almost night), at right. Facing to North, is visible the great lighted Monument Christ the King and at the left side of it, part of the 25 April Bridge that connects Almada to Lisbon. Canon 50D – ISO200; f/4; Exp. 1,6 Sec; 35mm. Panoramic of 10 images with about 200º, taken at 21h42 in 25/05/2013. Credit: Miguel Claro – www.miguelclaro.comThe triple conjunction of Venus, Mercury and Jupiter as seen over an Arizona desert landscape. Credit and copyright: Robert Sparks.Jupiter, Venus and Mercury triple conjunction seen here reflecting off Chatsworth Lake in Chatsworth, NJ. Jupiter (on the left) was 2.4° from Mercury (upper-right in the sky) and 2.0° from Venus (bottom right in the sky), while Venus and Mercury were 1.9° apart. Venus was at 2.6° altitude. Canon EOS 6D, 105 mm focal length, 1.3 seconds, f/6.3, ISO 800. Credit: Joe Stieber – sjastro.org/Triple conjunction on May 27 with WBZ radio towers south east of Boston. Hampton Hill, Hull, MA. Nikon D3x -iso200- 1.3 sec.at f2.8. Credit: Richard W. Green
Jupiter, Venus and Mercury in conjunction with the Stratosphere in the foreground.T aken May 24, 2013 at 8:38 PM from Las Vegas with a Canon T4i. Credit and copyright: John P. Lybrand.
Images are starting to come in of the bright planetary conjunction in the western sky at dusk! Jupiter, Venus and Mercury are snuggling up together, and we’ve got a wonderful weekend coming up with alignments including three separate conjunctions and ever-changing triangular arrangements as the nights go by. Mercury and Venus pair up on Friday; Mercury and Jupiter on Sunday and Venus and Jupiter on Monday. See our preview article for more detailed info on how to see the planetary trio each night, and there are more images below:
A view of the planetary conjunction on May 24, 2013, as see from the Middle East Technical Universty in Ankara, Turkey. Credit and copyright: M. Rasid Tugral.Three evening planets – Jupiter, Venus and Mercury — on May 23, 2013 at about 9pm CDT, as see from Salem, Missouri. The photographer noted a fourth planet is also visible in this photo: Earth! Credit and copyright: Joe Shuster. Mercury, Venus and Jupiter as seen near Tucson, Arizona on May 22, 2013. Credit and copyright: Robert Sparks.Planetary conjunction of Jupiter, Mercury and Venus on May 24, 2013, seen from Japan. Credit and copyright: Jason Hill.Three bright planets will highlight the northwestern sky this week and early next. Mercury is shown in pink and Jupiter in yellow. StellariumPlanetary trio on May 24, 20:45 PM, from Ankara, Turkey. The photographer notes this was his first attempt to image Mercury. Credit and copyright: Yuksel Kenaroglu.Triple planetary conjunction as see from Nashville, Tennessee on May 24, 2013. Credit and copyright: Theo Wellington.
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Recent Sun Pillar seen near Toronto, Canada. Credit and copyright: Rick Ellis.
Astrophotographer Rick Ellis from Toronto, Canada recently imaged a Sun pillar against a truly fiery sunset. Sun pillars are a vertical shaft of light extending upward or downward from the Sun, usually seen during sunrise or sunset. They form when sunlight reflects off the surfaces of high-altitude hexagonal-shaped or flat ice crystals. The crystals are typically associated with thin, high-level clouds, such as cirrostratus clouds. “Fire and ice,” Rick said via email. “Robert Frost would approve.”
Rick used a Canon A460, 1/100 seconds exposure at f/3.5, ISO 80.
And here’s Robert Frost’s famous poem:
FIRE AND ICE
by Robert Frost
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
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Cottonwood trees and the Milky Way on May 12, 2013. Credit and copyright: Randy Halverson/Dakotalapse.
Admittedly, I’m partial to Randy Halverson’s night sky photography from South Dakota. Having grown up in neighboring North Dakota myself, Halverson’s images bring back memories of the dark skies that grace the northern plains. But this one is just stunning, not to mention my early childhood home was surrounded by cottonwood trees — towering giants with ample limbs, and one of the few trees that grew well in the harsh prairies of the Dakotas.
Randy said he was trying out some new gear with this image, which is a frame from a timelapse he is shooting (can’t wait!) He used ased a Canon 6D and a Rokinon 24mm F1.4 lens (set at F2), using Emotimo TB3 Black timelapse equipment, shot at ISO 3200 for 20 seconds.
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A meteor from the Eta Aquarids flashes over the iconic Stonehenge. Credit and copyright: Peter Greig.
Astrophotographer Peter Greig (St1nkyPete on Flickr) had always wanted to go to Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England, and chose to go there this year for his birthday. It turns out the Universe gave him a little birthday present, with a fabulous clear evening to see the Milky Way shining overhead, along with a few Eta Aquarid meteors flashing in the sky. He captured this amazing shot on May 12. Happy birthday, Peter!
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The Milky Way and Aurora over Godafoss, waterfall of the gods, Iceland, by Stephane Vetter from France, the first place winner in Beauty of the Night Sky category, TWAN 2013 Earth & Sky Photo Contest.
The World at Night’s (TWAN) annual Earth & Sky photography contest showcases the stunning beauty of the night sky while highlighting the challenges of keeping our skies free from light pollution. TWAN has now announced the winners of this year’s contest, and the winning photos are simply breathtaking. This year’s theme of “Dark Skies Importance,” were judged in two categories: “Beauty Of The Night Sky” and “Against The Lights,” said Babak Tafreshi, the founder and director of TWAN,” and the winners were selected from submissions by photographers in about 45 countries.”
The selected images were judged to be those most effective in impressing the public on both how important and delicate the starry sky is as an affecting part of our nature, and also how bad the problem of light pollution has become.
Tafreshi added that “the amazing number of eye-catching entries from across the world tells how public attention to night sky is growing as well as interest to sky photography and we are very pleased if TWAN has a role on this increasing awareness.”
The overall contest winner and first prize in the Beauty Of The Night Sky category is our lead image, taken by Stephane Vetter of France, for his March 2013 panoramic photo “Sky Above Godafoss” of aurora and the Milky Way over the “Waterfall of the Gods” in Iceland.
See more winners and more information about the contest below:
The first prize in Against The Lights category goes to Andreas Max Böckle of Austria for his photo “Under the Hood” taken from overlooking the city of Salzburg in a moonlit night:
Stars over Salzburg, Austria by Andreas Max Böckle, the first winner in Against the Lights category in TWAN 2013 Earth & Sky Photo Contest.
David Malin, one of the judges and a world-known pioneer in scientific astrophotography said, “The 685 entries the judges examined (more than twice than the 2012 judged images) represent some of the best TWAN-style photographs ever gathered together in one place… I feel privileged to have seen so many beautiful images in such a short time!”
Click on the images here to see larger versions. You can see all the winners (and the great prizes they won) at the TWAN website, and this video highlights the winning photos:
‘Crossed Destinies,’ the Milky Way of Reunion Island, Indian Ocean by Luc Perro from France is the 2nd place winner in the Beauty of the Night Sky category in the TWAN 2013 Earth & Sky Photo contest.
A 'macro' shot of the crescent Moon? Photographer Miguel Claro appears to be taking a closeup shot of the crescent Moon, with an added Earthshine effect. Jupiter joins the scene as the brightest 'star' in the sky. Credit and copyright: Miguel Claro.
This very creative self-portrait by astrophotographer Miguel Claro shows what appears to be the photographer taking a ‘macro’ closeup of the crescent Moon! But there is a lot more going on in this image. The crescent Moon has just 3% of the disc illuminated by the Sun, but there is a stunningly bright Earthshine effect visible. This image was taken on May 11, 2013, so there is a conjunction between the Moon and Jupiter (the brightest star in the image). Venus was also in conjunction, but at the time this image was taken, it was covered by the cloudy band low on the horizon.
Another shot below:
A silhouette of photographer Miguel Claro along with the crescent Moon and Jupiter. Credit and copyright: Miguel Claro.
Images taken from Capuchos, Almada, Portugal with a Canon 50D – ISO400; Exp. 2sec. F/4; 35mm, on May 11, 2013 at 21:41 and 21:43. Enjoy more of Claro’s images at his website.
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Image stack of Pipe Nebula Area as seen from the Pyrénées National Park in France. Credit and copyright: Martin Campbell.
This dramatic shot of the dark and shadowy Pipe Nebula has an Instagram-like feel to it. But astrophotographer Martin Campbell from France said on Flickr he has “no doubt that the pristine skies at 10,000 feet and the absence of light pollution makes it possible to produce images like this!” Campbell’s image is a two frame stack of two minute exposure time, stacked with darks and edited in Photoshop CS5. Images were taken in July 2012 in Pyrénées National Park in France. Campbell used a modified Canon 5D mkII DSLR and a Canon 85mm prime lens at F/4. Stunning!
The Pipe Nebula is part of the Ophiuchus dark cloud complex, and is also known as Barnard 59. It is located at a distance of about 600-700 light-years from Earth.
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The brief partial lunar eclipse on Ari 25, 2013 captured over Israel. Credit and copyright: Gadi Eidelheit.
The lunar eclipse on April 25 was described by astrophotographer Gadi Eidelheit as “the greatest, slightest eclipse I ever saw!” The brief and small eclipse saw just 1.47% of the lunar limb nicked by the dark umbra or shadow from the Earth. It was visible from eastern Europe and Africa across the Middle East eastward to southeast Asia and western Australia. Here are a few more shots, including a serendipitous shot of an airplane flying through the eclipse!
Airliner flies through partial eclipse! On April 25, 2013, around 10:10 PM local time, the partial Lunar eclipse was at its maximum. The Moon only traveled 1,3% into the central Earth shadow (umbra). The event was visible from Europe, Asia and Australia. Canon EOS 600D on 130 mm (f/7,1) triplet Apo-refractor settings: 1/200 exposure at ISO 100. Credit and copyright: Philip Corneille – FRAS (Belgium).The small, shallow eclipse on April 25, 2013. Credit and copyright: Andrei Juravle.Partially eclipsed Moon rising over Brixton in the UK on April 25, 2013. Credit and copyright: Owen Llewellyn.Eclipsed Moon on April 25, 2013 over the UK. Credit and copyright: Sculptor Lil on Flickr.The eclipsed Moon, with Saturn showing as a bright point of light on the left, as seen over Königswinter, Germany. Credit and copyright: Daniel Fischer.The mini lunar eclipse on April 25, 2013 as seen from Bruges, Belgium. Credit and copyright: Cochuyt Joeri.A ‘before’ and ‘during’ comparison picture of the partial lunar eclipse on the 25th of April 2013. The photo on the left (‘before’) was taken at about 20h00 CAT and the photo on the right (‘during’) was taken around 22h06 CAT. Credit and copyright: Hein Oosthuyzen, Johannesburg, South Africa.Partial Lunar Eclipse on April 25, 2013. Credit and copyright: Henna Khan.
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