Photo details: Nikon D300, 18-200mm lens, ISO 500

The moon, Venus (below), and Jupiter setting near the Kissing Camels rock formation at Garden of the Gods. I had to hike a small hill to position the planets before they set, and in my rush (walking backward while aligning my shot) I tripped on a rock and fell. Luckily I was dressed for cold and had four layers on to break my fall! Too bad the clouds came in though.

Photo Details: Canon PowerShot G2, ISO 50, 15 seconds at f/5.6, and 2.5 (for the second, cloudy picture)

Photo details: Nikon D70s, 2 sec exposure, Lens 18-70mm @18mm

Venus was shining like a million dollar jewel in the early evening sky. The young moon hung low in milky blue atmosphere, giant Jupiter watched the visually stunning occultation unfolding below. As it got darker more and more detail became visible on the crescent moon. Between finishing the Venus vanishing sketch and the reemergence of Venus I put as much lunar detail as possible in the time and under the conditions as I could. The view as Venus reappeared and once again sparkled like a diamond stuck on the moon was breathtaking. I quickly placed the planet as accurately as I could and then continued to enjoy the view along with my fellow observers, Michael, Philip, Aubrey, and Keith.

Sketch details: Meade LX 90 FL 2000mm 35mm eyepiece = 57X Dec 1st 2008 - Greystones Co Wicklow Ireland Freezing Pastels/Conte on FineArt Pastel Velour Paper 15:35 - 17:10 approx too cold to time with any great regard

I awaited the arrival of the smiley face and wasn't let down by the Queensland weather, and then it showed it's happy joyous face, which made all the joggers and passers by look up to see what I was photographing, when they saw the lovely smiling face, they stopped dead in their tracks to admire the spectacle. The third photo was taken 24 hrs later, now bearing a long sad face.

Photo details: Canon 350D, ISO 400, various exposures.

Tenacious stratocumulus clouds added to the scene this evening from the St. Philippine Duchesne Memorial Park. One of several crosses provided foreground for the unparalleled beauty of the triple conjunction. Two of Jupiter's moons can be seen between the diffraction spikes, and the faint zodiacal light and Milky Way join the show.

Photo details: Canon Rebel XTi with 16, 24, and 135mm lenses; exposures range from 5 seconds to 2 minutes at ISO's 100 and 800.

Very nice view before clouds rolled in to spoil it.

Photo details: Canon Digital Rebel XT, 400 ASA, 2-3 sec exposures