16th AUGUST (MARS & JUPITER CONJUNCTION) 2024.

During August this year, the planets Mars and Jupiter were at their closest together in the night sky.

On 15th August 2024, the planets Jupiter and Mars were at their closest and just as this photo shows, could be seen with the naked-eye. But as usual in this country, the sky was cloudy on the morning of the 15th August. But the next morning, the sky was crystal-clear. I set-up my camera on a tripod and took lots of photos. As can be seen, Mars and Jupiter are quite widely separated and over successive mornings, would appear further and further apart as Mars on its closer orbit around the Sun than Jupiter, raced away. I have labelled a couple of bright stars, amongst the bbrightest in the sky as a comparrison to the planets Mars and Jupiter.

The photo below is the original image of the above before it was cropped and labelled.

Camera settings: Canon PowerShot, f2.7, 15sec exposure, ISO 100, tripod.

I also imaged the bright star Mizar, in the handle of the plough/Ursa Major. But this photo was done with my Nokia mobile phone, holding it to the eyepiece in an 8" diameter telescope.

Mizar is what is known as a 'Double Star'. If you have very good eyesight and the sky is exceptionaly clear, you can see two stars close together. These are Mizar A and Alcor. But look through binoculars or a telescope and you will see that Mizar is comprised of two stars: Mizar A & Mizar B. The stars physically orbit each other. They are what are known as 'Binary Stars', in astronomical parlance. As can be seen from the photo of Ursa Major below, Mizar & Alcor are readily identified. Ursa Major is located in the northern portion of the sky.

RJC

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