Spectacular Sky Scene Monday Evening (TONIGHT!)

Yahoo.News ^ | December 1,2008 | Joe Rao

[concerned about politics]

The star and crescent - an omen. There's a pretty frightening thought.

[TerP26]

Any shot I can see this in NYC?

[Dallas59]

Ok....that's IF I can take one without it turning out like this...

[RaceBannon]

I dont ever remember Venus ever getting that high in sky at night, in fact, I have been seeing these two planets thinking they were Jupiter and Mars or something, I didnt bother to look it up

[missnry]

A slender crescent moon, just 15-percent illuminated, will appear in very close proximity to the two brightest planets in our sky, Venus and Jupiter.

It was quite a sight to see drivin' to my hotel from work tonight. (I am over in Western Turkey.) I didn't have a tripod so I didn't take a picture. It was beautiful though.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Jupiter and Venus will be in conjugation sometime tonight, with the waxing crescent moon nearby.

Jupiter will soon disappear into the glare of the sun to re-emerge as a morning star in a few months, but Venus will continue to increase in “elongation”, setting later and later until well into February.

Tomorrow the moon will set about an hour after Venus.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Venus will be continue to ascend (get further from the Sun) well into February. Nothing particularly unusual about Venus’ current behavior. It’s the conjunction with Jupiter and the waxing crescent moon.

[FarRightFanatic]

Does anyone know when this happened last?

[Dubya-M-DeesWent2SyriaStupid!]

isn’t that a sign of radical islam?

[Red Badger]

isn’t that a sign of radical islam?

Radical islam? You're being redundant.........

[GRRRRR]

Start with F11 1/250 and work down from there.
Don’t assume the pic isn’t any good until you get it on your computer, digital so just snap away, try all the bracketing you want...

[SunkenCiv]

"Australians See Smiley Face in Night Sky"

[AFreeBird]

Canon EOS 20D user here.

Actually, if you're using a tripod, a lower ISO and longer exposure times will yield a better photo. But not so slow a shutter that you have to worry about tracking. Higher ISO will also mean more "noise" in the image. A remote shutter release is preferable, if not, use the timer to avoid camera shake during the shutter press. Your Canon (assuming EOS line) has a setting for mirror lockup. That will help reduce shake as well.

As stated, you're using digital, so clear out you CF card, read up on your camera setting, and plan out what you want to do exposure wise and go wild. Try all sorts of settings. It's not like you have to take film in for processing.

What lens(es) are you using? Have any filters or lens hoods?

[Dallas59]

I have a Canon Rebel XT and an Olympus Evolt 500. Evolt has a 14-45mm 1: 3.5-5.6 lens. The Canon has a EFS 18-55mm lens.

[Dallas59]

and an Olympus 40-150mm lens.

[jimfree]

Breaks up stop and go on way home. It’s straight ahead.

[RightWhale]

wide open, 15 seconds, tripod

[RightWhale]

zoom to 150.
Edit the image later for framing and to fit the computer screen

[thefactor]

did you just call venus and jupiter “stars”?

[Dallas59]