Day: October 28, 2015

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Triangle of Planets in the Twilight


Mars, Venus and Jupiter (in that order from top to bottom) in a triangle, in conjunction, at an old farmstead near Vulcan, Alberta, in the morning twilight, October 28, 2015. Illumination is from the nearly Full Hunter’s Moon in the west. The trio of planets were in Leo in a fine conjunction not to be repeated until November 21, 2111. Almost all of Leo is visible here, with Regulus, the constellation’s brightest star, just to the right of the windmill blades at top. This is a stack of 6 exposures for the ground, mean combined to smooth noise, and one exposure for the sky, all 10 seconds at f/4 and ISO 800 with the Canon 6D and Canon 24mm lens.

This was the trio of planets at their best in the morning sky. 

On the morning of October 28, Mars, Venus and Jupiter formed a neat isosceles triangle in the twilight. Venus, the brightest, was in the middle, with Mars below and Jupiter above. The grouping shone amid the stars of Leo, with its brightest star, Regulus, above the windmill in the lead image above. The rest of Leo lies above the planets.

To capture the scene I drove west at 5 am to a farmstead I had shot at before, in June, to capture Venus and Jupiter, also then in Leo near Regulus, but in the evening sky looking west. Click here for that blog post from mid-June.

This morning, the Moon, just past full as the annual Hunter’s Moon, shone in the west off camera lighting the landscape.

Mars, Venus and Jupiter (in that order from top to bottom) in a triangle, in conjunction, over an old red barn near Vulcan, Alberta, in the morning twilight, October 28, 2015. Illumination is from the nearly Full Hunter’s Moon in the west. The trio of planets were in Leo in a fine conjunction not to be repeated until November 21, 2111. This is a stack of 6 exposures for the ground, mean combined to smooth noise, and one exposure for the sky, all 10 seconds at f/4 and ISO 800 with the Canon 6D and Canon 24mm lens.

The dawn sky colours and the moonlit red barn made for a fine colour contrast.

After today, the planet configuration breaks up, as Venus descends to meet Mars on November 2 and 3, while Jupiter climbs higher. But another great morning sight awaits on November 7 when the waning crescent Moon will shine near the Venus-Mars pairing, with Jupiter above.

The conjunction of Mars, Venus and Jupiter (from bottom to top) in the dawn sky over the misty waters of Lake Macgregor in southern Alberta, on October 28, 2015. This is a single 1/4-second exposure at f/4 and ISO 400 with the Canon 6D and 24mm Canon lens.

On the way home I stopped at fog-bound Lake MacGregor to capture the planets in a brightening dawn sky over the misty waters.

This morning the three planets lay just 4.5 degrees apart, close enough to frame in high-power binoculars.

We won’t see these three planets this close to each other in a darkened sky — as opposed to being so close to the Sun we really can’t see them — until November 21, 2111.

Be sure to catch the dawn show while it lasts!

— Alan, October 28, 2015 / © 2015 Alan Dyer / www.amazingsky.com

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