Synthetic video of astronomical planetary photography

Astronomical science experts said that Venus and Neptune were very close in the early morning of April 28, which is a very rare phenomenon of planetary approach. At that time, the brightest and darkest planets in the two solar systems will perform a wonderful performance of "Stars attract each other".

The actual distance between Venus and Neptune is very far away, and the phenomenon of close proximity is actually only a visual effect, because the planets in the solar system run at different speeds. When the two planets have close angular distance and run on the same ecliptic, it is called "conjunction".

Yang Jing, a member of Chinese Astronomical Society and director of Tianjin Astronomical Society, said that Venus is the brightest celestial body in the whole day except the sun and the moon, and its maximum brightness can reach -4.9. This time Venus joined Neptune, and Venus appeared as the "morning star" with a brightness of -4.2, which was very eye-catching. Neptune is the farthest planet from the earth and the darkest planet among the eight planets in the solar system, with a brightness of about 8. 13 merged with Jupiter in April and came to Venus this time.

The "recent" coincidence occurred at about 3 am on April 28, with an angular distance of only 30 seconds, which almost formed the phenomenon of "planets blocking each other". Unfortunately, China can't see it, because the binary star is still below the horizon and will rise soon. At about 4 am, both of them rose above the horizon. At this time, Neptune and Venus have separated, with an angular distance of about 2 minutes. Of course, this is also a very rare and very close distance.

Cartoon production: Hu Yanzhu

Very close. What does that mean? This means that friends who like astrophotography can shoot Venus and Neptune in the same picture. "Under the small astronomical telescope, you can clearly see the phase of Venus; Neptune is located at the upper right of Venus. It looks like a dark blue dot. It is not easy to be found under the dazzling light of Venus and needs to be carefully searched. " Yang Jing said.

This is a close-up (imposition) of Venus and Neptune shot by Guangdong astronomy enthusiast Zhou Zhiwei. (Image provided by myself)

It is rare for two planets to get so close together, which is very worth observing. "Because the sky will be bright soon after the two planets rise, the actual observable time is only 30 minutes to 60 minutes. When the weather is fine, friends who like celestial photography can find an empty, open field of vision and no light pollution in the southeast and try to shoot with the help of a small astronomical telescope. This will be a rare astronomical photo. " Yang Jing said.

(Xinhua News Agency)