I make environmental sculptures. I wanted to celebrate the upcoming triple conjunction and hopefully take a photo of the sculpture with the conjunction. It was cloudy all afternoon. The sun set.. still cloudy... then, right around 5:30 local time, the clouds parted and the glorious event was framed in the sculpture... I could not have asked for more ! I had taken a shot from 2 nights before when we had just Venus and Jupiter within the sculpture... I've included that image too.

Photo details: Nikon D40

It was like a great face in the sky. People in Pakistan had never seen anything like this before.

It was one the most spectacular conjunctions I've ever seen.

Photo details: Nikon D70s, 200 ASA, 20s

Taken with a Sony Cybershot DSC-H1, around 1/2s exposures. The Sun was setting directly in front of a KC-135 stratotanker that was refueling our aircraft over Iraq. At 35,000 feet, the milky way was already visible overhead, and the view was spectacular. Both photos were off the left wing, the closer image was while we were still refueling, while a better view of the tanker was offered as the tanker departed. I only wish the flight was a little smoother to allow a clearer image!

Note to readers: Dave Marshall was a passenger, not the pilot of the airplane. Someone was safely at the controls at all times during the conjunction.

Here are my images from last night's "Smiley Face Conjunction" of Venus, Jupiter and the Moon. Clouds threatened to spoil the event for me as the evening approached, but luckily they cleared just enough to grab some images. After getting rained on for 5 minutes, attacked by mosquitoes, sniffed out by a wet dog who went for a swim just near me, stepping in water on the rocks (cause I left my red light torch at home!), and almost missing the entire thing due to clouds, I'm happy enough with how the shots turned out :) My full report and higher-res images here.

Perhaps the mammoth was so upset that the moon, Venus and Jupiter were ganging up on it that it skewered the moon with its massive tusk! The mammoth is one of dozens of massive sculptures at Galleta Meadows of animals that once dominated Southern California's Anza-Borrego Desert.

Beautiful sight in the SW evening twilight sky tonight with the new crescent moon, bright Venus and Jupiter so close together.