For the past couple of days, Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury have been putting on a rare show in the western sky.
The three planets are in the middle of what is known as a planetary conjunction, when they appear unusually close together. The three planets won't do this again until 2021.
The event peaked for viewers in the western hemisphere on Sunday, May 26. But the three planets will still be quite noticeable for the next week or so, even as they move away from each other.
We've collected several photos of the planetary conjunction taken from various locations around the world.
Skywatcher John Lybrand has a clear view of the bright planets from Las Vegas.
Las Vegas-based Flickr user John Lybrand told us how he found a good spot to take this photo:
"I knew the conjunction was going to be in the west, and I can see the Stratosphere to my west, so I just needed to find a place to shoot from. I scouted around the area, and found a vacant lot next to a road that had a good view.
When I went there on the 24th, I was just planning on taking some test shots in preparation for the 26th, which was supposed to be the closest conjunction. I wanted to practice with the location and camera settings so I could get it right later.
As it turned out, the picture from that night was the best of the weekend. I think that the configuration of the planets that night just had a more interesting look."
Dave Walker was fortunate to get a cloudless view of the sky from England.
Flickr user Dave Walker took this photo from the town of Billinge in northwestern England. Here's his explanation of the shot:
"I went up to Billinge Lump, as it is the only elevated vantage point near where I live with clear views in all directions, so I could capture both this event in the West and the full moon rising in the East. I was very lucky, as it has been cloudy almost every day beforehand and since!
Yes, it was cold, but that's Spring in the UK for you."
Garner Haines of Ontario took this shot as he was loading groceries into his car.
Flickr user Garner Haines told us he first heard about the planetary conjunction from astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson's Twitter feed.
Here's what Haines told us about his shot, taken from Stratford, Ontario:
"I had just finished grocery shopping at the Soby's nearby and could see Jupiter and Venus over the roof of the building as I loaded by groceries into my car. I realized they were visible with the naked eye and that I might be able to catch the alignment on "film".
I drove just a little bit down the road (the supermarket was right at the edge of town anyway) and pulled over. I didn't have my tripod with me so I steadied the camera on the roof of the car, and then experimented with shutter and aperture settings until I got the shot I wanted."
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