About 15 minutes ago, at about 6:40 pm EST, I managed to capture the crescent Moon, Venus and Mars all snuggled up in the first degree of Aries, as seen from a park in Portland, Maine. Photo by Amanda Painter.
Moon, Venus and Mars on the Aries Point
Thank you, Amanda! Amazing! Deeply appreciated as well because it’s (surprise!) cloudy here in Seattle. What a great service to Planet Waves readers!
So AWESOME !!!!!
So Aries – coming right at ya !!!!
That is a very powerful image, Amanda. Just that moment as you were able to capture it in the sky says more than any number of words. Luuuuvvvvv <3
=] Rob
So glad to know its appreciated! Although I do wish I could have captured the lovely color of the Moon; it had this soft, warm glow to the crescent. Given how cold it is, I’m just happy I was able to get a clear shot!
Wow that is cool.
Awesome photo
That is so very beautiful, Amanda. I am in awe. Thank you so much.
Great shot! I saw it too. Really beautiful on this crisp night.
Well done! So exciting to have all three in one telephoto view and together in the binoculars. I hope it stays clear enough tonight to see Mars and Venus even closer. Given how many cloudy Venus Moon conjunctions we’ve had since last March in Maine, this one is a gift!
Amanda, That is beautiful – in my experience photographing the moon can be so difficult, you did a great job of capturing not just Venus and Mars, but also the moon illuminated by earthshine! I did get to see it that evening, for less than a minute. I was trying to get warm by the fire after having chills from strep throat, when my husband came in after checking to see if the clouds were there and encouraged me to bundle up and just take a quick look. I did and as I got partway up our driveway I could see the beautiful sight through the trees. In less than a minute the dense cloud front bringing that nights’ snow covered our view, but it was worth it to see what I did; maybe a bit more cherished because it was so brief. And, if our view hadn’t been blocked by clouds I would have been tempted to get the camera, the tripod, and try taking pics – not a good idea for me, being sick that night (I don’t take them often but am grateful for antibiotics making quick work of that infection).
Well done and thank you!
Kathi
Kathi — Thank you, and I’m glad you got to see it *and* did not make your health worse by standing out in the cold too long! How sweet of your husband to let you know and encourage you to take a peek.
I got lucky with the earthshine — ti was way too brutally cold for me to be able to take off mittens and try to fiddle with manual settings, so i just trusted the automatic “landscape” setting. Had it been warmer, I would have tried to get a shot that showed the crescent Moon more as I actually saw it, in addition to this shot. In any case, I’m grateful for the experience. It was pretty excited to catch them all while still in the same degree of the zodiac like that.
🙂