Planetary Partnership

The planets Jupiter (left) and Mercury appear close together in the western sky around 8:00 PM, Monday, March 14, 2011 as seen from just outside the grounds of Christ Community United Methodist Church in Marion, Iowa. Jupiter and Mercury would have been viewed even closer--at just two degrees from one another--on the evening of Wednesday, March 16, but cloud cover low on the western horizon precluded it. The city lights laid out below the celestial event in this image belong to the neighboring city of Cedar Rapids. The photo was captured with a shutter speed of 1/4 second at f/4.5, a focal length of 100mm and an ISO rating of 500. Mercury will be at its greatest eastern elongation (evening visual separation from the sun) on March 22, but Jupiter drops into the glare of the sun.