Comet, Moon, and Seven Planets

In the morning of 2020 July 17, I drove up to Bakacak Peak in Uludag National Park. Bakacak has good views of Bursa down below on the plains, thanks to its 1730-meter elevation. I aimed for the close conjunction of Moon and Venus with Aldebaran nearby, while Comet Neowise was rising in the northeast. Although the bright comet and Moon-Venus pair were the celestial highlights, there were some others who surely deserved to be looked at. Mars was shining high over the southeastern horizon, while Saturn and Jupiter were closer to setting in the southwest. Two more planets were visible, too. These were Uranus, shining like an additional 6th magnitude star in Aries, and Neptune as a 8th magnitude speck in Aquarius. Of course, our Earth is the 7th planet in this panorama, displaying both its civilised personality of city lights and natural looks in the shape of Uludag NP.

The only planet missing from this view was Mercury, which needed another 30 minutes to rise in the east.