Four Spring Nighttime Gems

May 30, 2018

GregP_Quartet_19052018_Annotated

Photographer: Greg Parker
Summary Author: Greg Parker

The photo above features four bright objects visible at the same time in the springtime night sky as observed on May 20, 2018, over the New Forest Observatory in the U. K. The eye-catching quartet of Vega, Arcturus, Jupiter and Spica were just asking to be imaged. Note that this is a transient grouping because Jupiter, shining at an apparent magnitude of about -2.5 and the brightest of the four, won't be in the same region of the sky as spring progresses. Arcturus, at -0.05 magnitude, is the brightest star in this nightscape. Photo taken at 10:30 p.m.

Photo Details: Canon 5D MkII DSLR camera; 15mm Canon fisheye lens;10 seconds (bulb) exposure time; f 4.0; ISO 400.