[OC] I woke at 2am to photograph 5 planets perfectly aligned above the Sydney Opera House.

Image from preview.redd.it and submitted by BlakPhoenix
image showing [OC] I woke at 2am to photograph 5 planets perfectly aligned above the Sydney Opera House.

BlakPhoenix on April 21st, 2022 at 23:21 UTC »

Early this morning 5 planets all lined up in a "planetary parade". This was the first time we're had 5 planets in such a close formation in 1,075 years (although I don't think the Opera House was there 1,075 years ago...). From bottom to top we have Jupiter, Neptune (very faint), Venus (very bright), Mars & Saturn. Can you find all 5?

With some careful planning & luck with clear skies, I managed to frame it than over one of Sydney's most iconic buildings. I think they make a great combo!

Gear used:

Sturdy tripod SkyWatcher Star Adventurer Pro Nikon Z6 II Nikon 35mm f/1.8

Capture details:

Foreground - 3x untracked @ 15", f/2.8 - f/14 bracketing Sky - 30x tracked images @ 30", f/4

Editing details:

Landscape images were stacked in HDR to bring out shadows without over exposing highlights in the lights & allow star bursts. Sky images were stacked in Pixinsight using the WBPP script. This stacked sky was then layered like for like over the original sky. Why do I stack? It reduced camera noise, improves star shape/brightness & helps aleviate sky glow (light pollution). Finally some curves, colour balance & slight cropping before export.

You can check out how I did this on my YouTube channel (video will be uploaded within about a week, as I am exhausted after such an early start).

Instagram/Facebook/Patreon: AstroWithRoRo

Prints available in Australia from here.

An annotated version of this image can be found here highlighting the location of 5 planets (Earth not annotated).

killingtime1 on April 21st, 2022 at 23:46 UTC »

I’ve seen Hercules, that’s when the titans break out

hyperproliferative on April 22nd, 2022 at 00:21 UTC »

Why does my dumb ass only count 4 planets?