Windmill and Triple Planetary Alignment - 3
The planets Jupiter, Venus and Mercury were all visible during evening twilight on May 30. Four days after the closest approach of the three planets (see: Triple Planetary Alignment), Jupiter is quickly dropping into the twilight while Venus and Mercury climb higher. Consequently, the three planets are now strung out in a line. This part of a several-week-long triple planetary alignment as all three bright planets appear together in the evening sky.
In the image above, the planetary trio form an attractive composition with a windmill in the foreground. The figure to the right can be used to identify the planets on May 30.
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: Windmill and Triple Planetary Alignment - 3
- Date/Time: 2013 May 31 at 03:02 UTC
- Location: Rodeo, NM
- Tripod: Bogen 3001
- Lens: Nikkor 18-200mm VR lens at 90mm
- Camera: Nikon D7000
- Exposure: 1s, f/8, ISO 800
- File Name: Triple13-2150w.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.