2020 "Christmas Star" Jupiter and Saturn Conjunction at Antelope Island State Park
2020 "Christmas Star" Jupiter and Saturn conjunction taken on Monday, December 21, 2020 (Winter Solstice), at Antelope Island State Park in Utah.
A conjunction of two bright planets like Jupiter and Saturn creates an especially bright “star” in the sky. Articles have fondly labeled this event the 2020 “Christmas Star” on account of having lined up for the Winter Solstice and in reference to the Star of Bethlehem, which may have been a triple conjunction involving Jupiter and Saturn in the constellation Pices. Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions occur every 20 some-odd years, but this particular conjunction represents the closest they crossed over, from our perspective, since 1623 (and the closest regionally observable event since 1226). And, of course, these conjunctions occur on whichever day pleases them most.
This landscape photograph incorporates stacked exposures of the sky, stars, and conjunction; separately timed long exposures of the sky and water and foreground (because longer exposures cause greater blurring of elements like clouds), and accentuates the conjunction itself with reflection from high clouds and Dobsonian-style diffraction spikes created by adding an obstruction in front of the lens.
See the deep space photograph
flic.kr/p/2kogrH8
Technical Details
A high-ISO long-exposure landscape photograph was taken for reference (colors, star placement, etc.). Separate exposures were taken for the foreground (60s), water (20s), and clouds (10s) to create an HDR composite image (allows for clouds and water to not blur out excessively), all with the same framing and composition. Landscape photographs taken with Sony full frame camera with 70-200/2.8 GM. 20 fast exposures were taken of the planets and stars and stacked in Starry Landscape Stacker (macOS). Jupiter and Saturn were captured with a series of ten faster exposures to refine detail, combined with an exposure that included high clouds, adding some “bloom” to the conjunction, and an exposure taken with wires held in front of the lens to create traditional Newtonian-style diffraction spikes, accenting the separate celestial bodies. Sky photographs taken with Olympus E-M1 III using 40-150/2.8 Pro and 300/4 Pro lenses. Some nearby were being careless with their car headlights, and that turned out to afford some fun “light painting” for foreground elements. The resulting exposures were combined in Adobe Photoshop.
2020 "Christmas Star" Jupiter and Saturn Conjunction at Antelope Island State Park
2020 "Christmas Star" Jupiter and Saturn conjunction taken on Monday, December 21, 2020 (Winter Solstice), at Antelope Island State Park in Utah.
A conjunction of two bright planets like Jupiter and Saturn creates an especially bright “star” in the sky. Articles have fondly labeled this event the 2020 “Christmas Star” on account of having lined up for the Winter Solstice and in reference to the Star of Bethlehem, which may have been a triple conjunction involving Jupiter and Saturn in the constellation Pices. Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions occur every 20 some-odd years, but this particular conjunction represents the closest they crossed over, from our perspective, since 1623 (and the closest regionally observable event since 1226). And, of course, these conjunctions occur on whichever day pleases them most.
This landscape photograph incorporates stacked exposures of the sky, stars, and conjunction; separately timed long exposures of the sky and water and foreground (because longer exposures cause greater blurring of elements like clouds), and accentuates the conjunction itself with reflection from high clouds and Dobsonian-style diffraction spikes created by adding an obstruction in front of the lens.
See the deep space photograph
flic.kr/p/2kogrH8
Technical Details
A high-ISO long-exposure landscape photograph was taken for reference (colors, star placement, etc.). Separate exposures were taken for the foreground (60s), water (20s), and clouds (10s) to create an HDR composite image (allows for clouds and water to not blur out excessively), all with the same framing and composition. Landscape photographs taken with Sony full frame camera with 70-200/2.8 GM. 20 fast exposures were taken of the planets and stars and stacked in Starry Landscape Stacker (macOS). Jupiter and Saturn were captured with a series of ten faster exposures to refine detail, combined with an exposure that included high clouds, adding some “bloom” to the conjunction, and an exposure taken with wires held in front of the lens to create traditional Newtonian-style diffraction spikes, accenting the separate celestial bodies. Sky photographs taken with Olympus E-M1 III using 40-150/2.8 Pro and 300/4 Pro lenses. Some nearby were being careless with their car headlights, and that turned out to afford some fun “light painting” for foreground elements. The resulting exposures were combined in Adobe Photoshop.