Conjunction and Occultation of Jupiter and the Crescent Moon
July 21, 2012
Photographers: (upper photo) Mohamed Laaifat; (lower photo) Bill Metallinos; Bill’s Web site
Summary Authors: Mohamed Laaifa; Bill Metallinos; Jim Foster
The two photos above feature the conjunction and occultation of Jupiter and the Moon as viewed in the early morning of July 15, 2012. The upper photo was taken just prior to the occultation from Caen, France and shows the Galilean Moons, from left to right, Callisto, Ganymede, Io and Europa (click on the photo to better see these Moons). The lower photo was taken from Corfu, Greece. It shows Jupiter as it begins its occultation behind the waning crescent. Io and Europa are trailing and soon disappeared behind our lone Moon. Mare Crisium, on the Moon’s eastern quadrant, is the lunar surface feature nearest Jupiter.
Photo details: Top - Camera Maker: NIKON CORPORATION; Camera Model: NIKON D5100; Focal Length: 300.0mm (35mm equivalent: 450mm); Aperture: f/5.6; Exposure Time: 2.000 s; ISO equiv: 800; Exposure Bias: none; Metering Mode: Spot; Exposure: Manual; Exposure Mode: Manual; White Balance: Auto; Light Source: Unknown; Flash Fired: No; Orientation: Normal; Color Space: sRGB; Software: Adobe Photoshop CS2 Windows. Bottom - Takahashi 130 telescope; 2000 mm (Canon Extender 2X); f/15.40; Canon eos 40D camera; ISO 800; 5 second exposure.