Planetary Conjunctions

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Planetary conjunctions often occur around sunset and sunrise as the planets appear to bunch together in the sky. The brightest planets are easy to spot and can often be used to locate more elusive planets such as Mercury. When viewed through a telescope the planets of Mars and beyond will be small (they are on the far side of the Sun away from us) while Venus and Mercury will go through a series of phases like the moon. Planterary conjunctions are best photographed using a regular camera and lens on a tripod with a long exposure.

April through May 2002

Photographs using Digital Camera on tripod 10 second to two minute exposures

Best results obtained about an hour after sunset.

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