Planetary Alignment
Jan 19, 2016 19:06:11 #
Per the news, 4 planets are in alignment and will be visible for a month. Hope our astro-photographers can treat us to some great photos from around the world.
Jan 19, 2016 19:48:26 #
Hi John, welcome to the Astro Forum and we are all praying for someclear skies so we can do some of that photography.
I can't wait to do some shots of Jupiter with my new Scope and Camera. Do you do any astro observing or photography???
I can't wait to do some shots of Jupiter with my new Scope and Camera. Do you do any astro observing or photography???
Jan 20, 2016 11:17:14 #
Revision from AM newspaper article. 1st, it is 5 planets: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn, Jupiter in alignment along the ecliptic. AM viewing 1hr before sunrise from 1-20 to 2-20; best end Jan 1st week Feb.
Next alignment Aug 13 - 19, dusk hours.
Better reference is NASA or Sky & Telescope mag website.
Per question: am not an astro-photographer, just had a intro astronomy college course back in the 50s. Got a Celestron Sky Scout planetarium 10 yrs ago, but that is a toy compared to what the readers do here.
Next alignment Aug 13 - 19, dusk hours.
Better reference is NASA or Sky & Telescope mag website.
Per question: am not an astro-photographer, just had a intro astronomy college course back in the 50s. Got a Celestron Sky Scout planetarium 10 yrs ago, but that is a toy compared to what the readers do here.
Jan 20, 2016 14:25:27 #
The hardest one to see will be Mercury. I need to run some simulations and to see which day Mercury is at its max distance from the sun. Mercury is plenty bright enough to see when it is in optimum position, but it doesn't stay there very long as it goes around the sun very rapidly.
Venus also moves rapidly too, but slower than Mercury. You can definately see its movement each day if you watch it on succesive days. The outer planets move more slowly.
Venus also moves rapidly too, but slower than Mercury. You can definately see its movement each day if you watch it on succesive days. The outer planets move more slowly.
Jan 22, 2016 16:36:44 #
Well John, Not exactly what I was after....
My wife suggested I should get up early and see if I could get an image of the Planetary alignment.
So I had set up my camera and tripod the night before so if I was up early enough, I could set it out and see what I could see.
My eyes popped open at 04:30, and the planetary alignment was on my mind.
So I got up and grabbed a jacket and went outside in my PJ's to see what I could see.
Which was quite a bit of clouds, and a few brighter objects....
So I grabbed the camera and tripod, and did a few ISO shots to see what might be a good place to start.
Not dismayed by the weather, I went ahead and added my Intervalometer and ran a set while I went back to bed and caught a few more winks. The sun would herald the end of the imaging anyway.
I went through them over my morning coffee and thought another airplane had yet again been caught in one of my series of shots....
I went on bantering with Jim in Albaquirky about the moon. And it lead me to wondering what time old Mr. Moon actually set, and could I set up for an auto-run for tonight at the planetary event.
So my friend Stellarium, with it's abilities was opened and I was running it forward and backward in time when a bright spot seemed to travel through this mornings window I happened to have been shooting through. What was that?
So I found it and paused Stellarium. When I clicked on it, ISS (Zarya) came up in the information....
Humm, could it be?
Well, by golly, I was trying to find a shot of the Planetary string that is all the buzz, and I got 6 frames with the ISS (which I've tried to see, but never varifiably have seen) streaking across my images.
Damn the luck!
Jupiter is the bright object up in the tree toward the right (West).
And no worries, I'm already set up for another go (weather allowing) for tonight.
So without further adue, I give you the ISS at approximately 05:59 this morning.
http://youtu.be/Jwt_tQtQKOo
My wife suggested I should get up early and see if I could get an image of the Planetary alignment.
So I had set up my camera and tripod the night before so if I was up early enough, I could set it out and see what I could see.
My eyes popped open at 04:30, and the planetary alignment was on my mind.
So I got up and grabbed a jacket and went outside in my PJ's to see what I could see.
Which was quite a bit of clouds, and a few brighter objects....
So I grabbed the camera and tripod, and did a few ISO shots to see what might be a good place to start.
Not dismayed by the weather, I went ahead and added my Intervalometer and ran a set while I went back to bed and caught a few more winks. The sun would herald the end of the imaging anyway.
I went through them over my morning coffee and thought another airplane had yet again been caught in one of my series of shots....
I went on bantering with Jim in Albaquirky about the moon. And it lead me to wondering what time old Mr. Moon actually set, and could I set up for an auto-run for tonight at the planetary event.
So my friend Stellarium, with it's abilities was opened and I was running it forward and backward in time when a bright spot seemed to travel through this mornings window I happened to have been shooting through. What was that?
So I found it and paused Stellarium. When I clicked on it, ISS (Zarya) came up in the information....
Humm, could it be?
Well, by golly, I was trying to find a shot of the Planetary string that is all the buzz, and I got 6 frames with the ISS (which I've tried to see, but never varifiably have seen) streaking across my images.
Damn the luck!
Jupiter is the bright object up in the tree toward the right (West).
And no worries, I'm already set up for another go (weather allowing) for tonight.
So without further adue, I give you the ISS at approximately 05:59 this morning.
http://youtu.be/Jwt_tQtQKOo
Jan 22, 2016 17:13:40 #
SonnyE wrote:
Well John, Not exactly what I was after.... br br... (show quote)
Very nice job Sonny, 'You Done Good'.
Do I see some Planets in there somewhere???
Craig
Jan 23, 2016 10:10:20 #
JimH123 wrote:
The hardest one to see will be Mercury. I need to run some simulations and to see which day Mercury is at its max distance from the sun. Mercury is plenty bright enough to see when it is in optimum position, but it doesn't stay there very long as it goes around the sun very rapidly.
Venus also moves rapidly too, but slower than Mercury. You can definately see its movement each day if you watch it on succesive days. The outer planets move more slowly.
Venus also moves rapidly too, but slower than Mercury. You can definately see its movement each day if you watch it on succesive days. The outer planets move more slowly.
I ran StarryNight and looked at Mercury. Today at 7AM it was about 7 degrees above the horizon. Each morning it will be a little higher, and by Feb 4th, it is about 11 degrees high at 7AM. And then it starts moving back towards the sun again. On Feb 6th, Mercury is 4 degrees from Venus and 3 degrees rom the Moon in a little triangle. At this point, Mercury is getting lower and lower each day in a race with Venus, but Mercury is certainly winning this race.
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