Always Carry a Tripod – The Venus Jupiter Conjunction
You may have already noticed two bright planets in the evening sky. The conjunction of Venus and Jupiter has been striking throughout November.
Astronomical events were the farthest thing from my mind this evening, though. I had no idea the climax, or closest conjunction was to take place on December 1st. I had just been sharply reprimanded for asking an honest question, and was running late for another job across town. I raced around in something of a dither, gathering keys and supplies, and came bursting out of the front door planning to rush to the car.
The spectacular scene on the horizon was enough to completely overpower any thoughts of unjust reprimands or waiting students. I knew I had no time, but this moment called for a tripod. I just happened to have a miniature tripod in my purse that my mom had handed me a few days earlier. I quick screwed it on my little pocket casio, balanced it precariously on my daughter’s bike seat, set the camera to “city lights” mode and gingerly pushed the shutter.
The result was amazing. Venus to the left at magnitude -4 was clearly visible, and Jupiter to the right and a little higher in the sky at magnitude -2 was a definite little dot. The moon looks like a smile to complete a happy face.
My work was in an 11th floor condo close to the city center. It was only 15 minutes later, but the moon was already much thinner. I asked if I could take a shot from my students’ balcony before we began, and took this second shot from there. It’s hard to believe it could be possible to capture a conjunction with a pocket digital camera and a mini tripod. My photo lifestyle is definitely going to include carrying a tripod from now on. Hurray for technology!
Tags: camera tripod, photo lifestyle, veuns jupiter conjunction
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Those little tripods are really useful. I am not that into photography but they have saved a couple of nice family pictures.
tripods are great…once you've set them up!
Indeed. I believe the setup time for these shots was about 90 seconds. No big deal!
Your obviously better than me at this, I always have to faf around with it to get it set-up properly
Japan at night is beautiful…but Venus and Jupiter in the night sky make it extraordinary