During the late 20th Century planetary relationships took on a new meaning as a metaphor for the difference between men and women, following the publication of John Gray’s book Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus.  Making a beautiful view at the moment, Venus is currently flirting with Mars in the early evening sky, for a very brief period low on the western horizon just after sunset. Its appulse with Mars can be easily seen with the naked eye but the view from Fairvale Observatory lasts only about 20 minutes and therefore requires good seeing conditions and quick action to get a picture.

At the weekend the view was even better, with the crescent of the New Moon adjacent to the field of view of Venus and Mars at the same time but my camera was not ready. Ideally I would like to image its apparition with a telescope but having to act quickly, last night I managed to get a quick photograph of the two planets using a DSLR camera and a 600 mm telephoto lens; the International Space Station flew by shortly afterwards but unfortunately too late get a photograph combining all three, timing is everything.

Later in the month the apparition of Venus will also include Uranus, making an even better show but will definitely not be a case of two’s company, three’s a crowd!

Shining brilliant white, magnitude -3.9 Venus – top left & the smaller, faint magnitude +1.3, red planet of Mars – bottom right

STOP PRESS!

Another good evening sky this evening and tonight I manged to set-up the telescope to take this beautiful picture of Venus and Mars: