Twilight Sky at Dawn and Venus

December 16, 2020

Capture

Photographer: Joe LaCour
Summary Authors: Joe LaCour; Jim Foster

Shown above is the eastern sky as viewed just before sunup from Dungeness, Washington, on November 1, 2020. While most people were still sleeping, I was up taking a photo of the morning twilight and the planet Venus, seen as a tiny dot at upper right-center. Once astronomical twilight gives way to nautical twilight only the brightest planets can be observed (no stars are bright enough to be detected). Venus was shining at a magnitude of -4.0 this past fall.

Note that the tree snags on the horizon have long been home to eagles. Photo taken at 06:25 a.m. local time.

Photo Details: Leica M9 camera; 35mm Summicron lens; f8; 1/6 second exposure; ISO 160; DxO PhotoLab; full frame.