How to Photograph Jupiter and Saturn's Great Conjunction with a Phone, Camera or Telescope
Lawrence Wardzala of Arizona took this striking photo of the moon and the planet pair on Dec. 17 with his handheld iPhone 11. The best time to see the close pairing is about an hour after sunset — from about 5:15 to 6 p.m. — low in the southwestern sky. Lawrence Wardzala It seems the closer Jupiter and Saturn get the more delicate they appear. That's because we see them in twilight, and the bright sky tames their brilliance. Last night the two giants stood a little less than 0.5° apart alongside the waxing crescent moon. Tonight (Dec. 18) their separation shrinks to 0.3°. Jupiter and Saturn peek out between the trees in this photo made with an iPhone 8 on Dec. 14. Eric Norland Twilight is very useful when it comes to taking photos of the double-planet. In darkness, pictures show an inky sky and two dots, but in twilight you include silhouettes of trees and structures along with a colorful sky to give your images a sense of place. Seasonal lighting displays or a solstice bonfire ca...