Conjunction of the Moon, Venus & Jupiter, a photo from Isle of Wight, England

Photographer's Note

What a sight to behold! A rare Conjunction between 2 Planets and a Moon!

I decided to head down to St Catherines Lighthouse for the Astronomical show, but it was pretty damn cold with the temperature just below freezing point.

As it got dark, the Planet Jupiter became visible (top right) although at this point the Planet Venus was Eclipsed behind the moon.
It got darker and darker and just when it was getting almost too dark to take any more photos, the Planet Venus started to show itself from behind the moon.
You can make Venus out as a small white dot close to the bottom right of the Moon.

Anyway, i managed a couple of shots before it became too dark.

I used an ND4 Graduated filter with my camera at ISO 400

jmcl, loves_summer, Wandering_Dan, CMJC, bema, ku-fotak-chtik, Piotrek80, ciakgiak, macondo has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

jmcl (14535) 2008-12-01 16:42

Hi Jamie,

I was wondering if anybody was going to catch this tonight .. I didn't .. always a stupid excuse ..

wonderful color .. love the foreground green .. great use of the filter ... beautiful combination of dark, detail, and color .. and btw ... you have have a stunning gallery. take care, John

Roly (2016) 2008-12-01 16:59 [Comment]

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photoray (4185) 2008-12-01 18:01 [Comment]

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loves_summer (1306) 2008-12-01 18:12

Hi Jamie,
What an amazing sight you have captured! I love the clarity of the moon and both of the planets, and the rest of the photo is sharp as well. Great evening colours and nice framing. Thanks for sharing!
Ashley

Wandering_Dan (3449) 2008-12-01 18:34

Hi, Jamie -

What an extraordinary shot! It manages to be both astronomically and artistically successful. And for the most part the complex lighting is beautifully handled - the only thing I would change is to darken the fg a little bit; the rocks look brighter than they should compared to the rest of the scene.

A once-in-50 years conjunction - and of course it's overcast here in San Francisco. So an extra TFS!

Dan

Babarf (1578) 2008-12-01 19:23

Hi Jamie,

What a beautiful shot!!!

It's really nice to see the moon and TWO planets!!!

The colours are perfect and this wall on the first plan make a perfect composition!!

Very well done!!! :O)

Fabien.

batalay (30786) 2008-12-01 21:06

Hello Jamie,

Congratulations for capturing this rare event, a virtual "syzygy" (try writing this with cursive characters). It is believed in some astronomical circles that a syzygy might explain the brilliant star, "Star of Bethelem," witnessed by the Three Wise Men. I saw the configuration a little differently in Virginia, USA than you did on the Isle of Wight. I love the freshness of the shot, a short time after you recorded it, several thousand miles away.

Warm regards,

Bulent

tola_ch2004 (547) 2008-12-01 21:33

Woaw Jamie

You capture this view from a perfect angle and nice exposure.

Good job!

CMJC (3946) 2008-12-01 23:34

very nice, Baclama give us a BW version but this one added something...
preaps a square framing will bee best (for me - because stones at first place give us nothing)

bema (24149) 2008-12-01 23:42 [Comment]

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ku-fotak-chtik (1136) 2008-12-02 0:23

Hi Jamie,

Very unusuall and interesting picture. I like the sky and moon you managed with your ND grad very visible and clear.

Well done!

Regards Jiri

gezimania (5796) 2008-12-02 0:34

Hi Jamie
Fascinating indeed, very well done :)

Selnur

Piotrek80 (672) 2008-12-02 1:08

Hi Jamie.

Fascinating astronomical phenomenon perfectly captured. Congratulations.

Regards
Piotr

BoisBarb (10369) 2008-12-02 1:52

Hi Jamie,
Il ne fallait pas rater cet instant et tu l'as immortalisé d'une manière prodigieuse! Un grand bravo pour cette réalisation somptueuse.
Les nuages m'ont malheureusement empêché d'assister à ce spectacle céleste...
Bonne journée
Gilles

ciakgiak (27942) 2008-12-02 2:29

Hello Jamie,
last night I admired in the sky this splendid situation, but I could not pull off anything good.
You have taken a picture fantastic.
Best regards
Giorgio

macondo (17133) 2008-12-02 3:17

Hello Jamie.
Fine shot, even though a little over-saturated for my taste. You had a marvellous viewpoint and the exposure is superb. Such a high quality noise-free image - very well done. I have been outside tonight, here in Melbourne, but the cloud cover is complete, as it often is, alas.
Regards,
Andrew

dkeus31 (27726) 2008-12-02 3:32

Hi Jamie,
perfect image of that conjunction!
the pastel tones in the sky are a great addition to the shot!
regards
didier

baclama (12765) 2008-12-02 4:10

waouh...une merveille dans le ciel (on l'a vu aussi ici dans le sud de la france) mais aussi une merveille de photo de nuit avec des étoilés, des couleurs magnifiques!!!
bravo
vero

Beppo (1374) 2008-12-02 11:25

Hola Jamie,

Only one word...Great.

Josep,

Signal-Womb (13016) 2008-12-04 9:24

Jamie, I am/was very much into astronomy, don't know how I missed this one. I am planing to do a lot of this kind of night stuff with the camera. Its a fantastic capture with a uniqiue edge because of this conjunction. You composed the composition brilliantly. Excellent work.

jjcordier (52125) 2009-04-04 22:08

Jamie
Superbe! Tu as magnifiquement photographié cette rare conjonction. L'exposition et la netteté sur la lune sont parfaites et, en plus, tu as intégré l'ensemble dans ce beau paysage.Bravo pour cette somptueuse réalisation.
Amicalement
JJ

gmg (4202) 2009-07-19 14:52

Beautiful shot, with an interesting astronomical connection
TFS
gmg