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Well, mine were all conjunctions of one form or another this year:
Mars and Jupiter conjunction on 7th January with closest approach in broad daylight. At 5.30am, 10 minutes before sunrise, Jupiter’s disc had faded to a faint yellow with the main bands still very visible and the four moons starting to fade from view. Mars was a pretty bright pink.
At 8.30am, Jupiter was pale white against the blue sky with the main bands still visible. Mars was a paler bright pink. By now, the orientation of the two planets had clearly changed, reflecting the Earth’s rotation sweeping the two across the sky.
I took another look at 11.25am in bright sunshine - not a cloud in the sky. Both Jupiter and Mars appeared fainter and were at their closest approach. Mars was quite difficult to see initially, even though I knew where to look. Once I found Mars it was easy enough to keep it in view. Mars was still a faint pink and Jupiter a washed out white. The bands on Jupiter we're only just visible.
Vixen ED103S with LVW 22 giving 36X.
Mars and Saturn with M8 and M20 on 21st March: Through binoculars with a true 9 degree FOV, the view was quite special. Mars was just past the centre line of the M8-M20 pairing. The Lagoon and Trifid nebulae were very faint but obvious, with Mars nearby and Saturn out wide on the other side of the FOV with the rich star filed completing the scene.
Vixen SG 6.5X32WP binoculars
Vesta and Saturn on 14th June: I had been following Vesta's progress over several nights when the skies were clear. On the 14th, Vesta stood out clearly and was a distinctive light yellow. It was positioned nicely near M23. Putting M23 and Vesta near the left hand edge, a truely spectacular FOV (9 deg.) emerged. Almost across the opposite side of the field was Saturn. Towards the upper part of the FOV the glow of the Trifid and Lagoon Nebulae and associated stars stood out and in the lower part of the field M25 (Sagittarius Star Cloud) glowed magnificently. All of this in a sea of background stars.
Vixen SG 6.5X32WP binoculars
Mars and Neptune on 7th December: Persistent cloud dogged my plan to observe the approach unfold over several days. Eventually I managed a brief view through a gap in the clouds on the 6th. On the 7th, the day of closest approach, thick high cloud threatened a complete wipeout. I just hung in there going outside every five minutes or so hoping for a break. Eventually I got lucky and found a brief gap in the middle level cloud but there was still thin high cloud. Mars was a flaming small red disc with no detail. Neptune was a very small, faint blue disc. The cloud closed in again and it was all over.
Carl Zeiss 85TFL.
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