Current Solar X-rays: Current Geomagnetic Field: |
Current Moon Phase |
The moon, Venus, and Jupiter created an impressive sight during twilight on Oscar evening, February 26. Not only were the stars shining in Hollywood, but they were complimented by an impressive evening display of the three brightest objects of the night. Photography by Gary A. Becker, Coopersburg, PA... |
Venus (bottom right), and Jupiter bathed in moonlight created a beautiful couple during late twilight on March 6. The distance between the planets continues to narrow. Note two of Jupiter’s four Galilean satellites, Ganymede (above) and Callisto (below) on each side of the Giant Planet. Photography by Gary A. Becker, Coopersburg, PA... |
Venus (right), and Jupiter are grouped into a tight configuration during the early evening of March 10. Their separation was about four degrees. By Tuesday the 13th, US observers will see the two planets side by side and about one degree closer. Two 30 second images, one following the stars and the other with the drive stopped, were combined digitally to create this picture. Photography by Gary A. Becker, Coopersburg, PA... |
Venus (right), and Jupiter 8:25 p.m., EDT, March 11, 2012... The separation of the two planets had narrowed by a half degree between today and yesterday. A Canon 60D coupled with a 70-200mm telephoto lens was set at F/4, ASA 400, for this 25 second exposure. The EFL of the image was 112mm. To help correct for the effects of a high pressure sodium vapor lamp 60 feet away, the color temperature of the sensor was set to 3400K. After an initial 25 second exposure, the drive was turned off and the camera focused for the nearby trees about 50 yards away. The image was then taken again. The two images were combined using Paint Shop Pro and Adobe Photoshop. Thank goodness for digital photography. Image by Gary A. Becker, Coopersburg, PA... |
Venus (above) and Jupiter just keep moving along doing their dance. 8:27 p.m., EDT, March 14, 2012... The separation of the two planets was just over three degrees. A Canon 60D coupled with a 70-200mm telephoto lens was set at F/4, ASA 400, for this 30 second exposure. Sky conditions were very exceptionally clear. The EFL of the image was 112mm. To help correct for the effects of a high pressure sodium vapor lamp 60 feet away, the color temperature of the sensor was set to 3400K. After an initial 30 second exposure, the drive was turned off and the camera focused for the nearby trees about 50 yards away. Another 30 second image was then taken. The focused trees of the second images were combined with the first image using Paint Shop Pro and Adobe Photoshop. Photography by Gary A. Becker, Coopersburg, PA... |
Venus (above) and Jupiter on the evening of March 21 during late twilight... Photography by Gary A. Becker, Coopersburg, PA... |
The moon should be smiling next to a beauty like Venus. However, it was a cold, cold smile. March 26 turned out to be a real shocker after weeks of warmth. It was blustery and bright during the day—a hard freeze for the night, with Dogwood in full bloom because of May temperatures in March. This equatorially mounted 8 second image was taken with a Canon 70-200mm zoom lens with a 2x extender at an EFL of 430mm, ASA 400. Photography by Gary A. Becker, Coopersburg, PA... |