Planetary Headlights

Appearing as a giant pair of celestial headlights in the twilight, Jupiter (left) and Venus shone side by side in this view of the west sky around 8:04 PM CDT, Monday, March 12, 2012. The magnitude of the brilliant planets was -2.12 and -4.27 respectively. The silhouetted building in the foreground is Echo Hill Presbyterian Church north at 9000 C Avenue near Marion, Iowa. The image is a 15-second exposure at f/8, 250 ISO and 18mm focal length.