Planets and moon(s) grace our evening sky

Photo: Moon and Jupiter by James Guilford
Earth's Moon and planet Jupiter form the base of a tall triangle. Photo by James Guilford.

Tonight, and for the next couple of nights, Earth’s Moon joins this spring’s conjunction of Jupiter and Venus in our western evening sky. The clouds cleared just in time for the show and I stepped outdoors, tripod-mounted camera in hand, to record the sight as best I could. The three objects, on the list of brightest in the night sky, formed a very elongated triangle with Jupiter and the Moon forming the base, and brilliant Venus at the peak (not shown in the photo above). The three were visible in bright twilight but really came into their own around 8:30 EDT. Later, as I processed my photos, I was surprised and delighted to see I had captured not only Venus, Jupiter, and the Moon but, in a tighter shot, a couple of Jupiter’s moons as well! The nighttime portion of the Moon’s face is lit by Earthshine. Canon EOS 50D: ISO 800, f/4, 1/4 sec., 200mm — James Guilford, 8:34 PM EDT, March 25, 2012