Planets in Her Hands

Planets Venus and Mercury are inferior planets which from the Earth sky they are always seen relatively close to the sun (although Venus can reach quite high above the horizon near its greatest elongations). Here the two planets are captured in a beautiful evening conjunction above Welzheim near Stuttgart, Germany. Venus, as the second brightest object in the night sky after the Moon, is the brighter of the pair here. Note the Pleiades (the Seven Sisters star cluster) visible through the tree branches near the top.