Capturing the night sky: Tips on photos of the Jupiter and Saturn conjunction
Photos of Jupiter and Saturn together in the evening sky during the great conjuction.
The planets Jupiter and Saturn near conjunction Saturday, Dec. 19, as seen in Baxter. Jupiter is the larger point of light with Saturn, slightly smaller and fainter, sitting just above and a bit to the left. The bright planets should be easily visible looking to the southwest just after sunset and will appear closest together Monday, Dec. 21, where the two planets will appear a tenth of a degree apart according to NASA. Viewers who look closer, such as through binoculars, telescope or telephoto lens, may also be able to see the moons of Jupiter. It's been nearly eight centuries since the pair of planets appeared this close together in the night sky. The next opportunity to see this conjunction of planets will be March 15, 2080. Some have compared Monday night's spectacle to the "Christmas Star" or "star of Bethlehem," which, in biblical tradition, guided the three wise men to the baby Jesus. Go to www.brainerddispatch.com for tips on photographing the big event. Kelly Humphrey / Brainerd Dispatch
A couple of tips for photographing the great conjunction. Use a tripod. You'll want a slower shutter speed for night photography and a tripod is key. But keep in mind that you don't want too slow of a shutter speed or you'll start getting star trails instead of points of light. I used a six second exposure and you can already see a slight motion blur from that. I used my 24-70mm lens rather than my telephoto lens because I wanted to frame the planets with trees and have foreground in the shot to give the photo context. But if you use a telephoto lens or crop in on the photos like I did for several of them, you can also see the moons of Jupiter in the shot. If you use a longer lens you'll want to shorten the exposure time to something like two seconds or less so the motion blur isn't as heavy, which is more apparent in closer shots.
Jupiter appears to have a tail like a comet in this photo but it is actually a couple of Jupiter's moons, slightly blurred due to the movement of the planet during a slow shutter speed. Kelly Humphrey / Brainerd Dispatch
1/4: The planets Jupiter and Saturn near conjunction Saturday, Dec. 19, as seen in Baxter. Jupiter is the larger point of light with Saturn, slightly smaller and fainter, sitting just above and a bit to the left. Kelly Humphrey / Brainerd Dispatch
2/4: Jupiter appears to have a tail like a comet in this photo but it is actually a couple of Jupiter's moons, slightly blurred due to the movement of the planet during a slow shutter speed. Kelly Humphrey / Brainerd Dispatch
3/4: The planets Jupiter and Saturn near conjunction Saturday, Dec. 19, as seen in Baxter. Jupiter is the larger point of light with Saturn, slightly smaller and fainter, sitting just above and a bit to the left. Kelly Humphrey / Brainerd Dispatch
4/4: The planets Jupiter and Saturn near conjunction Saturday, Dec. 19, as seen in Baxter. Jupiter is the larger point of light with Saturn, slightly smaller and fainter, sitting just above and a bit to the left. Kelly Humphrey / Brainerd Dispatch
Growing up in the Brainerd lakes area I realized that I never wanted to leave, so it is a true blessing that I was able to find a job at the Dispatch doing something I love. As a visual journalist, I work in the mediums of photography and videography to bring our readers everything from sports, hard news, weather and local events to slice of life documentation of our coverage area.
