On December 1, Venus, Jupiter, and the Moon made this pretty formation in the sky:
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That shot was taken on my little department store digital camera. All I did was mount it on a good tripod and bracket the exposure (that is, take a bunch of shots with different exposure times). I knew my neighbor’s tree would make an interesting sight in a longish (10 second) exposure, and tried to balance the foreground objects. The glowing clouds were a nice bonus.
My point is, taking pretty shots of astronomical events is not terribly hard, and if you have even basic equipment you should take the opportunity to try.
Search Flickr for "Venus Moon Jupiter" to see tons of results from folks who took photos of this remarkable event. Dave Mosher on Discovery’s blog has more, as does Scott Hurst, and pretty much every other astronomy blog out there. It’s nice to see so many folks giving this a shot. If you have a picture online, link to it in the comments and let others see how yours look!
December 1st, 2008 at 10:17 pm
To us in Adelaide, Australia the orientation was very different and we had an almost perfect smiley face
December 1st, 2008 at 10:23 pm
Dog gone clouds! I missed it.
December 1st, 2008 at 10:29 pm
Like Jarrad, I’m in Australia – in Brisbane – and got to see a nice smiley face as I drove to work last night. It made me smile, too!
December 1st, 2008 at 10:36 pm
Heh, your picture is a bit sharper than my attempt.
December 1st, 2008 at 10:40 pm
That’s a pretty nice picture, Phil. Too bad I missed it! I didn’t even know… Ah, well, that’s what the Internet is for, I suppose.
December 1st, 2008 at 10:48 pm
Here’s a bunch of the
taken down under…
http://www.smh.com.au/photogallery/2008/12/02/1227979981056.html
December 1st, 2008 at 10:51 pm
Awesome shot. Wish I was able to capture the surroundings a bit more like you’ve done, looks festive and atmospheric…
Was a hard job avoiding the undergrowth, balancing my little Canon on a folded pile of business cards (I knew they’d have a use) and avoiding standing on the wildlife bare footed, but I caught the trio pretty nicely from the back yard. I’m very impressed with how much you can do with a standard 5megapixel digital camera
December 1st, 2008 at 10:54 pm
Venus Jupiter whatever, there’s a ghost floating out from that lit tree! This picture must have been leaked from Phil’s computer!
December 1st, 2008 at 10:56 pm
I was very keen to see the not-upside-down smiley face down here, but we had lots of cloud cover and high winds. Such a shame since the previous night, when the three were not so happy, it was a perfect night!
December 1st, 2008 at 10:58 pm
Jarrad: Smiley face!!! COOL!!!
Missed it up here in Vancouver, BC. It poured rain all day. What else is new?!
December 1st, 2008 at 11:09 pm
Clouds got in my way of seeing the occultation itself, but still made for a nice time-lapse sunset…
http://www.vimeo.com/2401389
December 1st, 2008 at 11:19 pm
I saw it tonight. It was absolutely beautiful. It was one of the only times where being near the big city lights was useful. The only objects visible in that part of the sky were the Moon, Venus, and Jupiter. Nothing else.
Sadly, my iPhone picture couldn’t resolve Jupiter, and could barely render Venus as a speck.
December 1st, 2008 at 11:29 pm
Wow… my shots look pretty boring by comparison.
December 1st, 2008 at 11:36 pm
I am from Malaysia…
I saw a smiley last nite.
Hey!!! The moon is smiling to me!!!
December 1st, 2008 at 11:38 pm
From SE Georgia at around 6 p.m.
http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x133/hedonegone/conemail.jpg
December 1st, 2008 at 11:50 pm
Under the clouds just North of Vancouver…
December 1st, 2008 at 11:55 pm
I love my home, I love Portland, I even love the rain.
But I hate it when I miss stuff like this. Like tonight.
Also missed the Leonids in 1999.
Is it true I missed several hundred with each blink?
Sigh…
December 2nd, 2008 at 12:02 am
Too cloudy here in Denver for a good look — thanks for the nice shot!
December 2nd, 2008 at 12:37 am
Here’s my pic of the magical event, taken in Melbourne, Australia.
It was very bright and cloudless last night, so I didn’t even need a tripod!
http://ilikeportello.blogspot.com/2008/12/heavens-are-smiling.html
December 2nd, 2008 at 12:46 am
Lucky enough to have a crisp clear day, I saw the occultation through binoculars, perched halfway up the fire escape at the building where I work (Fareham, UK). It was fascinating, though a darker sky would have improved the show. I was quite busy at work, but managed to pop out after dark and see Venus just after it emerged from the other side – that was pretty cool.
December 2nd, 2008 at 12:50 am
Today I used the proximity of the Moon to see Venus during the day time. It’s the second time I’ve managed to do that.
December 2nd, 2008 at 1:19 am
I woke up so bummed out that it was snowing. I didn’t think I was going to be able to see it, but with a slight break in the clouds at 6, just as I was heading out to school, I got a really peak at event. It was awesome!
December 2nd, 2008 at 1:30 am
A few shots from Arecibo (link is to my album on Facebook), where the clouds cleared just as the sky got dark enough. The foreground is fairly interesting astronomically as well
December 2nd, 2008 at 1:33 am
Fantastic view from here in the UK… at sunset the Moon was occulting Venus, and when the planet reappeared from behind the Moon the view was incredible…
http://cumbriansky.wordpress.com/2008/12/02/planets-on-parade
December 2nd, 2008 at 1:57 am
I’m constantly amazed what I can get from my basic DSLR and a 100mm prime lens. I can make out two of Jupiter’s moons from a shot last night, and have on previous occasions been able to see the odd nebula that would be completely invisible to the naked eye. Can’t wait to get myself a decent zoom! My photos from last night are in the link.
December 2nd, 2008 at 2:26 am
The BBC has a gallery of photos taken of the three of them too…
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/7759643.stm
December 2nd, 2008 at 2:48 am
Living in The Netherlands I missed both the conjunction and the occultation because of cloud cover. Bummer.
December 2nd, 2008 at 2:49 am
It was cloudy in my place when the sun sets, and I’m sort of giving up hope of seeing the conjunction. But the Moon and planets are bright enough to poke through the clouds. It’s really amazing to see the sky smiling at you… Some photos: http://mydarksky.org/2008/12/02/smiley-face-in-the-sky/
(btw I’m observing in Malaysia, a small country in south east asia.)
December 2nd, 2008 at 2:55 am
My smiley is up here… couldn’t get a decent foreground, though. Hence the up-close-and-personal smiley.
December 2nd, 2008 at 2:57 am
Here at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, it was a right way smiley, something like the little hobbit of the imagination. : )
it was something like below but upright of course…
.
)
*
December 2nd, 2008 at 3:06 am
Ten tenths cloud here, so no pictures
December 2nd, 2008 at 3:17 am
I saw it last night. Cool!!! A smiley face…
December 2nd, 2008 at 3:24 am
Fantastic view here in SE England. At one point it looked like the moon had a silver earring!
December 2nd, 2008 at 3:55 am
nice picture. i am in the philippines. i am happy cause it was perfect smiling face here. its my first time actually so i am so happy.
December 2nd, 2008 at 3:56 am
My friend’s smiley face pic from Australia. God’s emoticon.
December 2nd, 2008 at 4:21 am
My wife took my 5-year old son out to see it while I was at work. My family is super-fantastico.
December 2nd, 2008 at 4:22 am
Actually, she took him out to watch Venus emerge from behind the moon as a bump of light. Which was even niftier.
December 2nd, 2008 at 4:44 am
Here’s yet a few more pics of the Smiley Face Venus-Moon-Jupiter trio, as seen from Quezon City, Philippines: http://bit.ly/188Z9
December 2nd, 2008 at 5:01 am
I’ve been counting down to this joining of Jupiter and Venus since the beginning of November and of course for the past week it’s been nothing but clouds.
December 2nd, 2008 at 5:02 am
Here in Sydney there was plenty of publicity about the smiley face that we were to see last night (monday). So that pretty much ensured that there was solid cloud all evening…
Did manage to see the upside-down grumpy face tonight though!
December 2nd, 2008 at 5:15 am
Jesus is looking down on us with sadness.
December 2nd, 2008 at 5:17 am
Here in New Brunswick we have had complete cloud cover for weeks… I am not a happy camper.
December 2nd, 2008 at 5:31 am
Was pretty cloudy all day here in College Park, MD so I had actually given up on any hope of seeing the conjunction… However, about 5 minutes before I had to head off to my evening class, started getting phone calls about what the bright “stars” are beside the Moon (I run the campus observatory)… After dutifully answering that the “stars” were actually the planets Venus and Jupiter, I hopped up and ran to the car to get my tripod and set the camera up and took a couple of shots. Headed off to class and took some more with the students in the foreground. Will get the pics downloaded and posted this morning…
December 2nd, 2008 at 5:52 am
My view from Portland, OR on 11/30/08 – too much cloud cover on 12/01
http://picasaweb.google.com/kerouac906/Oregon#5275172842471062706
December 2nd, 2008 at 6:13 am
Hi, Mr BA, check mine, took from South America:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cardoso/3075010411/
December 2nd, 2008 at 6:24 am
Stupid clouds! I missed it!
December 2nd, 2008 at 6:44 am
I didn’t have a tripod handy, so I tried to take a pic by resting the camera on something solid. I haven’t downloaded the pictures yet, so maybe later I’ll have a chance to look it over.
December 2nd, 2008 at 7:21 am
I saw it in Boston as I was headed to the train and again in Providence as I got off. Someone I was sitting with commented on the stars and I got to correct her. So proud!
And beautiful!
December 2nd, 2008 at 7:38 am
We got the smiley-face effect here in Thailand.
They’re saying that the next smiley-phenomenon will occur in 44 more years. Can anybody answer the following: how long, if ever, must one wait to see a smiley with a nose? (say, the moon, Venus, Jupiter, and Mars).
December 2nd, 2008 at 7:43 am
I was able to get a few shots near Little Sweden, USA, also known as Lindsborg, KS.
What was cool was noticing Jupiter’s moons when I zoomed all the way in on my monitor.
Anyway, photos at my site:
http://www.allthepages.org/wp/archives/2008/12/a-rare-occurrence.html
December 2nd, 2008 at 7:56 am
I got a couple Monday night…you can see the best at http://halfastro.wordpress.com/2008/12/01/the-grand-conjunction-sunday-night-photos/
Last night there were some low clouds here right over the Moon..didn’t come out well, but it was still pretty visually.
December 2nd, 2008 at 8:13 am
My dad got a pretty good shot of the Sunday conjunction with his Nikon D300. It was better than the shot the BBC used in their article, at least.
December 2nd, 2008 at 8:26 am
My son called me into the sunroom last night to look at it. The only reason that I knew what they were was from NPR and your site.
It was gorgeous!
December 2nd, 2008 at 8:49 am
Great photo!
It was pretty cloudy and rainy here in the last few months, it was rainy on December 1st, but at night it was perfect (Thanks, Flying Spaghetti Monster)! I took lots of images with my digital camera, and I made a set with the best ones on Flickr. You can click my name to see it.
I saw lots of meteors too. (4 in a row!)
December 2nd, 2008 at 8:52 am
@ Navneeth (and others)
Great shot!
It was spectacular from my home in Pasadena. Unfortunately my cheapo camera didn’t work too well. Now I just have to rely on memory…which is sort of like trying to carry water in a very leaky bucket.
December 2nd, 2008 at 8:59 am
It rained most of the day here, but when I left work the sky was absolutely clear and I had a chance to view this. What a wonderful sight.
December 2nd, 2008 at 9:33 am
We were able to see it for a bit down in Westminster, CO, then the clouds took out Venus and Jupiter. It was pretty cool.
December 2nd, 2008 at 11:44 am
Down here in Colorado Springs it was nice and clear when I was outside – the orientation was such when I saw it when I headed out of the office it was an almost-perfect frowny-face. I got a good laugh.
Sadly, some clouds had blown in and blocked that part of the sky by the time I got home, so I couldn’t get the kids out to see it.
December 2nd, 2008 at 12:47 pm
[...] anyone get to observe the conjunction of the Moon, Venus, and Jupiter last night? We were mildly overcast here in Indiana, but in some ways that actually worked in [...]
December 2nd, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Here are a couple from outside Los Alamos, New Mexico.
Moon, Venus and Jupiter”
Moon, Venus, Jupiter and an Iridium flare
December 2nd, 2008 at 1:55 pm
On the humorous side, the nuts over at GLP are talking about how this is a sign of the apocalypse. Is there anything that isn’t a sign of the apocalypse to these people?
December 2nd, 2008 at 2:49 pm
This site had tipped me off about it, and on Monday night here in Brisbane my father and I were driving home from dinner at our local services club, when I heard them talking about it on ABC radio. So I looked up to the southwest, and there it was
My father couldn’t see it until we turned into our driveway. Sorry, no pics.
December 2nd, 2008 at 3:21 pm
I saw this, then rushed home to get my camera! Here is what I saw at 10:30pm in Melbourne, Australia.
http://s256.photobucket.com/albums/hh171/Rowan_of_Rin/DSC_0009_2.jpg
December 2nd, 2008 at 4:15 pm
Sadly, we were clouded out, but it is very nice to enjoy the sight vicariously through pictures – thanks to everyone for sharing!
December 2nd, 2008 at 6:30 pm
I wasn’t able to catch it because everything had set by the time I got home from work, plus it was partly cloudy. I did see Venus and Jupiter together in the sky over the weekend, though. That was pretty impressive by itself.
December 2nd, 2008 at 8:26 pm
Thanks to everyone who is posting links to their pictures. You guys are taking some amazing photos!
December 2nd, 2008 at 8:58 pm
I think Stu wins for the occultation pictures. Sorry if I missed any others like that up there.
Mine is from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
http://www.spacew.com/gallery/image005948.html
December 3rd, 2008 at 5:20 am
I saw it from Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India. When i am out of my office in evening .It was looking very beautiful.
December 3rd, 2008 at 6:11 am
That’s nice Phil, I tried using my Treo Centro smart phone and my 10×50 binocs to catch it but I could not hold them still long enough. Even bracing them on my truck didn’t help much. Ken, One of my fellow NJ Night Skies buddies got a good one. See http://njnightsky.com/astro/html/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=5600
December 4th, 2008 at 12:29 am
a heavenly smile was displayed in the philippines
December 5th, 2008 at 11:23 am
The smiling face (The Jupiter, Venus and the moon) in Thailand was very clear and fantastic.
December 5th, 2008 at 11:33 am
You can see many pictures from the website.
December 7th, 2008 at 4:32 am
I really saw that. I saw it accidentally when i’m shotting picture to my house
when i saw a smiley face in the sky. I thought it was only my imaginations
occuring like real, but i watch news on the night, and i realize that the smiley
face on the sky was two planets and one moon (i thought it was 2 stars that
aligns above the moon!!) Awesome alignment!!! i will take that picture
a hundred times!!!
December 18th, 2008 at 9:22 am
My wife and I were taking our dogs for a walk on 2nd December 2008 at about 08:30 pm when we
saw the Moon, Venus and Jupiter on the left of the Grey High School Tower, in Port
Elizabeth, South Africa. We went home, fetched our cellphone, returned and took this picture
(at 08:59 pm). The cellphone is a Nokia N95 8GB cellphone with a Carl Zeiss 5 Megapixel
lens. Want to put a picture on Youtube? It’s easy. Use Windows Movie Maker to convert the
picture into a video. Make the video about a minute long. Windows Movie Maker comes with
Windows.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1mKFVdstAY
January 21st, 2009 at 10:30 am
[...] sky is an amazingly fun thing to do. It’s not terribly hard to get decent shots of stars, and I’ve taken quite a few lovely pictures of planets and satellites myself with nothing more than a tripod and an off-the-shelf digital [...]
February 23rd, 2009 at 1:18 pm
[...] are turning up everywhere (do a Google image search!), so you should try your hand at it too. I’ve taken some pretty awesome sky shots with just my wee digital camera. It’s really not all that [...]