Venus and Jupiter Glitter Paths

July 01, 2012

VenusGlitterIMG_5105_p (2)

Photographer: Luis Argerich; Luis's Web site
Summary Author: Luis Argerich; Jim Foster

After transiting the Sun in early June, Venus is currently getting brighter as it moves out of the Sun's glare and starts its morning shift. As shown above, Venus's strong reflection and glitter path on the Rio de La Plata were an amazing sight in the early morning hours of June 26, 2012. Each individual wavelet is showing a full reflection of both planets although Jupiter, to the upper left of Venus, casts a dimmer reflection. Note that only the brightest (greater than about first magnitude) planets and stars are sufficiently bright to see their reflection on water. Don't miss seeing Venus in the hours before dawn the next several weeks.  

Photo details: Camera Maker: Canon; Camera Model: Canon EOS 60D; Focal Length: 50mm; Aperture: f/2.2; Exposure Time: 3.200 s; ISO equiv: 1600; Exposure Bias: none; Metering Mode: Matrix; Exposure: Manual; Exposure Mode: Manual; White Balance: Auto; Flash Fired: No (enforced); Orientation: Normal; Color Space: sRGB; Software: GIMP 2.6.11.