Island Planets

As the evening twilight fades away in this remote island in the Pacific Ocean, the dazzling planet Venus shines above scattered clouds. Bright star Regulus (alpha star of Leo) is vanished by the light of Venus, just besides it. Further up is the red planet Mars and then Saturn between the palm trees. This pacific paradise in the southern hemisphere is Mangaia, the most southerly of the Cook Islands. This volcanic remnant has the distinction of being the oldest island in the Pacific dating back to about 18 million years ago. As noted by the photographer “I traveled to this remote paradise with only 500 Polynesian residents because the total solar eclipse path of 11 July 2010 were passing over this location. There were few places in the island with rather open view to the sky but even there tall palm trees were all around. Standing or leaving the camera under those palms for a long exposure was not a good idea with the falling coconuts!”