Mercury and Venus 
in Evening Twilight in Winton
August 28th, 2008

 

            

            
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 With
            a southern latitude of -21, the conjunction of these two planets
            was easy to follow night after night for 45 minutes or more,
            posed well above the western horizon after dusk. Venus the brighter
            of the pair can be spotted easily from any latitude, but Mercury
            poses a real challenge in the bright evening twilight. This stunning
            scene was taken at the sheep ranch we stayed at for a week in
            the Outback of Australia near a small town called Winton. Close
            examination of this image will also show Corvus on the upper
            left part of the image, sitting on its side from this latitude.
            The foreground is typical for the Outback, few trees and distant
            sharp horizons in all directions. 
Lens:  Canon 17-40mm L lens at 17mm f/5
Platform:  Robotic Barndoor II
Camera:  Hutech Modified Canon XTi @ ISO400
Exposure:  15 seconds - Tracked
Filters:  None
Location:  Winton, QLD, Australia
Elevation:  260 ft.
Sky:  Seeing  8/10, Transparency 9/10
Outside Temperature:  80F
Processing Tools:  Photoshop CS2
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