Jupiter & Saturn Conjunction in the South west after Sunset!
Here Is something special you all can witness for the next two weeks right after sunset!!! Watch them grow closer! A very rare event is starting! The Last time this happened was over 800 years ago.
Here is a shot of them the last two evenings, taken from my observatories at JBSPO in Ohio. The closest approach of the two planets will occur on December 21st, 2020.
Currently they are too far apart to shoot at high power through a telescope in one shot, but I did capture a shot wide field at very low power, and it barely fit on an APS-C sized camera chip,
Its shows the two planets and their moons, but as they draw closer I will get more higher power shots.
I texted several of my friends to watch it briefly for the last two nights, since I can’t hold an event due to Covid restrictions, I observed it via texting with my astronomy Buddies, Jenni Davis, & Greg Greison, who both observed it from North Dayton, Ohio. We are all members of the Miami Valley Astronomical Society, Dayton, Ohio.
So you can experience & share your observations with friends without getting together and you don’t need a telescope to enjoy this event.
The Images were taken from my Observatories at MVAS dark sky site at John Bryan State Park in Yellow Springs, Ohio on
12-09-2020 and 12-10-2020 taken shortly after sunset. I watched and captured images from shortly after sunset and into dusk/twilight, about 5pm until about 7pm local standard time, until they set below our tree line.
We can clearly see how much brighter Jupiter is compared to Saturn with the unaided eye, and they make a beautiful bright pair for anyone to see or notice in the southwestern sky.
The Shot that shows them together with moons was taken with an Explore Scientific 102mm APO Triplet refractors and Canon 6D DSLR (Full Frame Chip). They are still far apart, but when they get closer I will shoot them at higher magnification together.
I also did I-phone shot from in my Red lit Dome and scope looking out at the two planets.
Feel free to use my images to promote this event!!….BTW, it was a great idea to do this texting friends & family, as the general public and fellow AL members can get involved as well as see a once in a life time event.
I’ll have to wait for the weather to clear again to get more.. 🙁
Feel free to share my images to promote this event!!
Best Regards,
John Chumack
