Photographer Captures Six Planets Twinkling in the Night Sky in Rare Alignment
After there was some misleading information online over what exactly the upcoming planetary alignment will look like, astrophotographer Josh Dury has already managed to capture all six planets ahead of the main event on February 28.
Dury headed to a telecommunications memorial on England’s South Coast on Tuesday and was able to capture Jupiter, the Moon, Uranus, Saturn, Neptune, Mercury, and Venus — seven heavenly bodies in total.
“The image was utilized with Sigma’s 15mm Diagonal Fisheye Lens to capture a near 180-degree field of view,” Dury tells PetaPixel. “A diffuse filter — NiSi’s StarSoft Filter — was used to spread the light of stars and planets over a greater surface area, so they are clearer to identify in the photograph.”
Dury has form capturing planetary parades having captured one this time last year. Last year there were seven planets visible; this year it’s only six because Mars is hidden by the Sun.
“It was a wonderful experience to capture all of the planets at the same time during optimal viewing conditions,” Dury says.
“Because of the light from the first quarter moon and the fading twilight, Venus needed to be positioned as low to the horizon as possible to capture the fainter planets, Uranus and Neptune.”
NASA explains, shortly after sunset on February 28, Mercury, Venus, Neptune, Saturn, Uranus, and Jupiter will all be visible in the night sky. As Dury mentioned, Uranus and Neptune require some form of optical assistance to view, whether that’s a telescope, binoculars, or a specialized camera setup.
Dury took advantage of a rare break in the famous grey weather of the U.K. to capture the planetary alignment, which is just a single frame on his ultra-wide lens. The forecast says it will be cloudy for the main event on Saturday.
He had to drive four hours to his desired location, a trip that was elongated by road closures.
“As the Sun set upon arrival, I did think whether I would have enough time to capture the first planet to the west: Venus,” Dury writes on Instagram. “In the fading twilight, Mercury and Saturn made their presence known. The Moon and Jupiter were already quite dominant.”
If you are planning on getting out to shoot this weekend then why not check out PetaPixel’s astrophotography guide.
More of Dury’s work can be found on his website, Instagram, Facebook, and X.
Image credits: Photographs by Josh Dury.
