Agave and Ocotillo with Triple Planetary Alignment
A tall agave (left) and ocotillo frame the triple planetary alignment several miles north of Arizona Sky Village. The planets Mercury, Venus and Jupiter (top to bottom) continue to form a conspicuous grouping during evening twilight on May 29. This part of a several-week-long triple planetary alignment as all three bright planets appear together in the evening sky. The figure to the right can be used to identify the planets on May 29.
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: Agave and Ocotillo with Triple Planetary Alignment
- Date/Time: 2013 May 29 at 02:56 UTC
- Location: Arizona Sky Village">Arizona Sky Village, Portal, AZ
- Tripod: Bogen 3001
- Lens: Nikkor 18-200mm VR lens at 120mm
- Camera: Nikon D7000
- Exposure: 1/4s, f/8, ISO 800
- File Name: Triple13-2134w.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.