The 11 Nov. 2018 Moon-Saturn conjunction: a great show in the sky
On 11 Nov., the sky offered a stunning, close Moon-Saturn conjunction, rare and noteworthy! We at the Virtual Telescope did not miss the opportunity to capture it and here we are pleased to share our images of this amazing cosmic event!
The Moon and Saturn: the planet is on the bottom and shows an hint of its rings: 11 Nov. 2018
A longer exposure reveals the subtle Earthshine, while Saturn is better visible, too, on the bottom – 11 Nov. 2018
* NB: versione in Italiano qui*
The images above come from two single shots, obtained with a Canon EOS 80D DSLR and a Canon EFS 55/250 lens, used at 250 mm. They offer two different “points of view” of the same event: one image clearly shows – when enlarged – the Saturn rings, while the other one, using a longer exposure time, gently reveals the night side of our satellite. It is the so called Earthlshine, due to the light our planet (right now shining as “full” in the sky of the Moon!), reflects to our satellite from the Sun.
I would like to underline the beauty of this close conjunction: Saturn looked like a diamond, a shining and glittering earring, attached with an invisible nylon string to our wonderful Selene.
A spectacular picture, able to take your breath away and accessible to everyone: you just need to look up in the sky, open your heart and enjoy this absolute celestial show!
Andrea Curzi
Update: (12 Nov.): we received and share an image of the Moon-Saturn conjunction we received by Marcello Barnaba, whom we thank, where you can clearly see the Satun rings:
The Moon-Saturn conjunction: 11 Nov. 2018 – Marcello Barnaba
These are the tech details:
Translation: Gianluca Masi
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