This was the scene at dawn on a cold winter morning as the waning Moon appeared near Venus.
The temperature was only -15° C, so rather pleasant compared to the -30° C it has been the last couple of mornings. On February 26, I awoke at 6 a.m. and ventured into the cold winter morning to shoot the conjunction of the crescent Moon beside Venus above the snowy landscape of southern Alberta.
This was not a particularly close conjunction, at least not for us in North America. But its location low on the southeast horizon made the scene attractive and photogenic.
I aimed the camera the other way, to the southwest, to catch bright Mars (at right near Spica in Virgo) and Saturn (at left in Libra) above the abandoned farmhouse. The stars of Scorpius shine at left.
So we had three planets visible at dawn this morning, a fine sight to start the winter day.
– Alan, February 26, 2014 / © 2014 Alan Dyer
The Amazing Sky 
Wow! What a fantastic image.
Wonderful shot! Venus has been absolutely brilliant lately. A few weeks ago when it had become a key morning star again, it was the brightest thing in the morning sky by a long shot.
This was the beautiful scene that I saw the other morning when I was driving very early from home in Didsbury to High River.
Thank you for capturing it so well, Alan – it is a record for me, of what I saw. Breathtaking in its simplicity!
Ann
Excellent! Makes a great start to the day.
Alan, two very fine shots. It is my humble opinion that sky was exceptionally clear the last two nights even with some light pollution looking from the west of Calgary.
Lawrence Chrismas
Yes indeed. Look for zodiacal light in the western sky in the early evening. This is the best time of year to see it from here.