3+1 Planets and the Moon

From the photographer: “A day after the annular Solar eclipse of 17th February, the Moon was to join the 3 planets visible early in the evening on 18th, but the weather decided I had to wait one more day. The thin crescent also occulted Mercury, but it was visible in parts of North America.

So, in the evening of 19th, I drove up the road to Uludag NP (near Bursa, Turkey), stopping at a field near Kirazlı village, which I frequently visit when the need for a clear western sky comes up. The sky was very transparent and there were only a few wisps of clouds in the distance. Just after catching the general scenery, I shot a more detailed portrait of the Moon and planets. I waited until the last moment before Venus was lost behind the distant wisps, to have the sky was dark as possible. Because I wanted to catch the 4th planet in view, which is Neptune, just a degree to the upper right of Saturn.

Saturn and Neptune kept close company during the observing season of 2025-6, and they had came nearest to each other in early July. Both planets traced their retrograde loops (which I have been photographing for another long term project), and now they are again in conjunction, even slightly closer than last July this time.”