Conjunction of Venus And Jupiter 2015 – Part 5

Half the world is sleeping
Half the world’s awake
Half can hear their hearts beat
Half just hear them break

I am but a traveler in most every way
Ask me what you want to know

What a journey it has been
And the end is not in sight
But the stars are out tonight
And they’re bound to guide my way

Lyrics from The Journey as sung by Lea Salonga.

All good things must come to an end. The planets Venus and Jupiter are going separate ways in their celestial journey but will meet again on August 27 next year (2016).

I was lucky to see the sun, the earth and the sky bidding them farewell with a spectacular sunset today. You can see both planets in the jet contrail in the upper center. Jupiter is now lower and less bright.

Goodbye and see you together again, next year.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f7.1, 1 sec.

Egg Yolk Sunset

I saw a lovely setting sun in the mirror while stuck in a horrendous traffic jam today. Decided to shoot through the wing mirror while waiting at the lights.

Deliberate under-exposure kept the bright sun in check. That, plus factors such as micro-vibrations and dust on an already optically-imperfect mirror created some funky effects.

I like the surreal effect in which different shades of red and orange dominate; that of the sun, the street lights and tail lights of cars going in the opposite direction.

Many Cantonese-speaking photographers refer to such a sunset as “kai tan wong” or egg yolk.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f4, 1/1250 sec.

Conjunction of Jupiter And Venus – Part 4

The two planets (and earth) are orbiting and a bit of ‘trailing’ was captured by the slow exposure.

From my position, they appear to be descending or moving diagonally towards the horizon.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f11, 4 sec.

Conjunction of Jupiter And Venus – Part 3

If you were looking out for the conjunction tonight, you may have thought the two planets moved so close together that they merged into a single object. It didn’t happen here, as viewed from very near the equator. Maybe higher in the northern hemisphere or elsewhere they appeared closer.

Due to the haze in the Klang Valley today, it was hard to see both as clearly as last night. I can still see Venus shining bright though. Jupiter is the higher of the two and more faint. The separation is distinct and both were visible for a brief period.

Panasonic Lumix GM-1, ISO 3200, f3.5, 1/40 sec.