Into the Depths of the Solar System

Moon-Jupiter-Neptune Conjunction
Conjunction of the Moon, Jupiter and Neptune
Sketch and Details by Peter Mayhew

Object name: Moon, Jupiter, Neptune
Object type: Conjunction
Location: York, UK
Date: 21st December 2009

I had to cycle home from work especially quickly on the icy roads in time to sketch this solar system trio before they sank below the trees. The sketch spans about 5 degrees of sky, with the 5-day crescent moon at the bottom (north) and Neptune and Jupiter with the Galileans at top. I observed them all at 18:00 UT through my Skywatcher Skyliner 150mm f8 Dobsonian with a 25mm eyepiece, repositioning the scope several times to include them all, and had to do this in about ten minutes before they sank from sight. Later I tidied the sketch up (graphite pencil on white paper) and reversed the colours and added labels. The field of view spans the closest heavenly body to us, as well as the farthest planet and the largest planet and helps give a sense of scale to our solar system family.

2 thoughts on “Into the Depths of the Solar System”

  1. Peter,

    Well done widefield sketch–you captured a fine opportunity to show the depth of the solar system.

    Michael Rosolina
    Friars Hill, WV USA

  2. Peter,

    A very nice capture of a wonderful sight. Thanks for sharing it with us.

    Frank 🙂

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