Astrophotography by Anthony Ayiomamitis

Conjunction Image Gallery

A gathering involving celestial bodies, most predominantly planets, is classified as a conjunction and represents a very dramatic sight when looking overhead. Planets by their nature are generally the brightest specks of light in the overhead sky and, therefore, easily stand out on their own. This is especially true when two or more planets are in proximity to each other ranging from less than a degree to tens of degrees spanning the eastern or western sky.

Strange as it may sound, Mercury is the least observed planet using the naked-eye and this includes professional astronomers and which is attributed to the planet's close proximity to the Sun. As a result, conjunctions involving Mercury and one of the other planets is a great means to catching this elusive planet once the sun has yet to rise in the east or has already set in the west.

Conjunctions are particularly impressive when they involve the most dominant celestial body of the night sky, namely the moon, and where one can observe a variable juxtaposition between the moon and one or more planets from evening to evening.

Note: The effort below involving the very young crescent moon was taken from the seaside resort area of Kalamos (Oropos) northeast of Athens and whose history dates to the time of the golden age of ancient Greece. Oropos is best known for the sacred sanctuary Amphiareion (5th century BC) lying in the immediate hills and which was visited by pilgrims in their desire to consult the oracle Amphiaraus for advice and healing.

The young crescent moon in the photo below is approximately 3.24 days old and with a phase of only 13.9%. It is characterized with an apparent diameter of 30.7 arc-minutes while lying at a distance of 395,552 km away from Earth or about the maximum distance the Moon can realize while orbiting the Earth. To the south of the crescent moon is the brightest planet of the evening sky, namely Venus, and which is characterized with an apparent diameter of only 16.11" and a phase of 69.4%. At eastern elongation and when Venus is at its greatest apparent distance from the Sun, it is the first celestial object visible once the Sun has set and is quite often labelled as the "Evening Star". Similarly, when Venus is at its greatest western elongation, it will rise a few hours before the Sun and will appear to be the last star still shining as dawn approaches and, hence, for its nickname "Morning Star". For the 2023 apparition, Venus will realize its greatest eastern and western elongations on June 4th and October 23rd, respectively.

The star visible near the center top of the field of view is â-Tau (mag 1.68) whereas á-Tau is visible at the bottom left corner (mag 1.00).

Note: For additional conjunction results involving the Moon and other celestial bodies from around the world, please click here.


Image Details
Young Crescent Moon with Venus
Imaging Details
Body:
Moon

Mass:
0.0123 x Earth

Mean Eq Diameter:
0.2719 x Earth

Distance:
395,552 km

Sidereal Rev:
27d 07h 43m 11s

Age:
3d 14h 14m

Phase:
13.9°

Diameter:
30.73'

Magnitude:
-7.8

Rukl:
N/A
Date:
Apr 23, 2023
20:50:36 UT+3


Location:
Kalamos, Greece

Equipment:
Canon EOS 6D Mark I
Canon EOS EF 70-200mm f/4 L
      @ 100 mm / f4.0


Exposure:
1 x 0.6 sec
ISO 1000
RAW Image Format
5472x3648 Image Size
Custom White Balance
Continuous Servo Mode
Manual Mode


Software:
Digital Photo Pro V4.6.30.0
Photoshop CS6


Processing:
RAW to TIFF (16-bit) Conv
Resampling
JPG Compression