I didn’t think we’d have a chance of photographing anything today as it was very cloudy and threatening rain all day. Then the weather started to taunt us with patches of light and blue sky before retreating to gloomy and grey. So I figured tonight was going to be a wash.
I was wrong!
The sun had gone down and at first I wasn’t going to look outside only to be disappointed but I went ahead and looked out the window and saw the moon; it had gotten a bit “wider” in two days. Perhaps things were looking up for my chance at photographing the planets?
I couldn’t see Jupiter and Saturn so I had to throw on some shoes and my coat and step outside and there they were! We then scrambled to get cameras, tripods, flashlights and settings on and out into the back yard we went. You can see here just how low in the sky they sit. I had to move around in our yard in order to get them in between the power lines.
There was a lot of shutter clicks going on until the clouds came back in and we decided to wait in case they moved. It’s a good thing we did because the clouds did pass just as the planets were getting even lower in the sky and I was able to capture some of the moons of Jupiter this time! At first I thought my shutter was open too long and that was why Saturn looked a bit oval shaped and then DH told me it was because of its rings that it looks that shape. Ah hah…
I decided to give the moons of Jupiter another edit (and closer crop) so that you can hopefully see the moons better. On my computer screen I can see five of them but once imported into WP the fainter fifth moon fades out.
The 21st is when the planets are supposed to be their closest (the Christmas star effect) but Mother Nature has been a bit fickle. We shall see!
Teri 📷 🌙🪐
Images by T.Dashfield Photography 
Wow! Lucky to be back in time to read this on 21st. We are having clear skies for last few days, will try to see this tonight, hopefully we can see something without telescopes? The two moons of Jupiter are very interesting!
Welcome back! You can see it without a telescope but it will look like the second image to the naked eye. Good luck viewing it.
Good for you! I completely forgot about the conjunction, so we’ll see if tomorrow’s skies are clear, and my memory is clear, as well. I’m so glad you got some images.
Thank you. I hope your skies are clear because it’s something to behold.
Cool!
Thanks, Tim!
Astonishing. At first I thought there was dust on my monitor and I had to squint a bit, but oh my! You can see moons around Jupiter! Excellent shots.
Thank you. After reading your comment I decided to do another edit of the moons and have since posted it. Hope you take another look and see a few more moons 🙂
We drove over to the cliffs above the sea about an hour after sundown. It was the brightest thing in the sky, but being that we only had our eyes and stadium binoculars we weren’t able to see Jupiter’s moons, so thanks for your extra efforts. Still, to think that this crazy year brought us not one, but two, amazing celestial events!
Wonderful! 🙂
Thank you kindly, Pit. Have you been able to see them?
Great captures. Heading out tonight
Thanks and good luck!
No luck up here last night!
Boo!
i have been able to watch this event unfold all week and hope to continue to watch as long as the sky stays clear. im not sure if my 300mm zoom lens will pull in the view, but i will try tonight. i wish i could hold still enough with my 10×50 power binoculars (even bracing on a fence post) to get a nice view. but i have been surprised how good a shot i have been getting with just my phone! lol
Cool! Happy viewing tonight. It’s ridiculously cloudy here now so no go for me 😦
Well I hope things clear up for you by the time sunset happens. If not I hope the next several days are clear for you because it still will be happening
That’s what I’m pulling for and hopefully this time I won’t lose my flashlight in the dark and have to use another one to find it! LOL
😱😱🤣🤣😷😷