Watching for Triple Planetary Alignment - 3
Pat and Fred Espenak gaze at the Triple Planetary Alignment from the sky deck of Bifrost Astronomical Observatory in this astronomical self portrait. The planets Jupiter, Venus and Mercury (left to right) form a conspicuous triangle during evening twilight on May 26. This is the climax of a several-week-long triple planetary alignment as all three bright planets appear together in the evening sky.
Complete details on this celestial event can be found on the Portal to the Universe blog post Triple Planetary Alignment. To preview how the event will change from night-to-night, see the Triple Planetary Alignment Viewing Charts.
For photos of this event, see Triple Planetary Alignment Gallery.
Technical Details
- Object: Watching the Triple Planetary Alignment - 3
- Date/Time: 2013 May 27 from 02:51 UTC
- Location: Bifrost Astronomical Observatory, Portal, AZ
- Tripod: Bogen 3001
- Lens: Nikkor 18-105mm VR lens at 90 mm
- Camera: Nikon D90
- Exposure: 1/2s, f/8, ISO 400
- File Name: Triple13-2051w.jpg
- Processing (Adobe Camera Raw): Noise Reduction, Lens Correction
- Processing (Photoshop CS6): Curves
- Original Image Size: 2848 x 4288 pixels (12.2 MP); 9.5" x 14.3" @ 300 dpi
- Rights: Copyright 2013 by Fred Espenak. All Rights Reserved. See: Image Licensing.