When Jupiter Aligns with Mars

 I've had the conjunction of the Moon, Mars, and Jupiter on my calendar for about a month.  I suppose I should add Saturn and Mercury to the list of planets, because all four of them are in the eastern sky before dawn.

The moon was scheduled to approach them starting Tuesday, March 17, and swing under or through Jupiter and Mars on the 18th.  I was amused, because right now, any time the Moon is just about to set, it's in the Seventh House and we can all channel our inner Fifth Dimension and start singing "Aquarius."

Tuesday morning was cold and clear.

And the Moon was farther away from Jupiter and Mars than I realized.  This makes it difficult to compose a nice looking photo:  in order for the planets to show up, one has to increase the time the camera shutter is open, which means the Moon washes everything out and/or becomes a brilliant and featureless object.

Also the ecliptic is pretty close to 45 degrees this time of year--as opposed to 68 degrees three months ago at the Winter Solstice--which means I have to go across the street to photograph solar system objects so that I'm not taking artsy photos of my neighbor's rooflines (I still have to deal with utility lines).  

I took a bunch of blurry shots, about eight passible ones, and vowed that I would take more photos on Wednesday (3/18), when the Moon and the planets would be closer to each other and in a more managable field of view.

Of course, that night the clouds rolled in.  I woke up early to a patchwork sky.  It seemed like the clouds were teasing me with a peep show of pre-dawn luminaries.  But I got the camera and tripod ready and checked the skies between brewing tea and eating breakfast, and about an hour later, there were enough rents in the clouds to warrant traipsing across the street and seeing what I could see.

Focusing through the clouds was a little tricky, but I figured I was doing well when I was able to resolve the Galilean moons from Jupiter.  I think the clouds helped some, because they toned down the glare of the moon; also the limb of the moon was thinner than it had been the day before.

I like the color on Wednesday's photos, and I like the features of the Moon on Tuesday's photos.