Jupiter and Mars meet in the sky: images of a superb conjunction – 12 & 14 Aug. 2024.
We admired the amazing conjunction between Jupiter and Mars, capturing its stunning colors and the richness of the sky on the background.
Jupiter and Mars. 14 Aug. 2024.
The image above comes from the combination of 10, 120-second images, remotely captured with the Samyang 135+Paramount ME+ZWO ASI 6200MC Pro robotic unit part of the Virtual Telescope Project and installed in Manciano, Italy, in the Tuscany Maremma.
The two planets dominate the scene with their brightness: Jupiter has no rivals, while Mars, 16 times fainter than the lord fo the planets, shows its evident red hue.
On the background, the richness of that spot of the sky is mind-blowing. The conjunction happened among the stars of Taurus, one of the zodiacal constellations: you can see dark nebulae, star clusters and many colored stars.
To have an idea of the motion of the planets, you can compare the picture above with the following one, taken two days earlier, with the very same equipment. After all, in ancient Greek, the word “planet” means “wanderers”.
Jupiter and Mars. 12 Aug. 2024.
Clearly, Mars looks “faster”, as it really is, being closer to the Sun than Jupiter.
We shared the experience live, you can find the podcast from our live feed below.
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