View larger. Evening dusk on August 3, 2015: Venus at upper left. At upper right, the star Regulus is at top and Jupiter resides below Regulus, Leo’s brightest star. Look very carefully and you might spot Mercury right on the horizon, at the lower right, on line with Regulus and Jupiter.
Peter Lowenstein from the Southern Hemisphere country of Zimbabwe took these photos of the dance of the planets in the western evening dusk from August 3-8, 2015. At the left is the queen planet Venus. To the right of Venus, on the other side of the frame, is the king planet Jupiter beneath Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation Leo the Lion. Day by day, Mercury climbs upward, towards Regulus and Jupiter. Venus, Jupiter and the star Regulus are quickly fading into the glare of sunset, and all three are to transition from the evening to the morning sky later this month. Meanwhile, Mercury is rapidly flying upward from the sunset glare. Mercury is to present the Southern Hemisphere with its finest evening apparition of this year for several weeks, centered on late August and early September 2015.
View larger. Evening dusk on August 4: Venus to the left. At right, Regulus is at top, Jupiter is below Regulus, and Mercury lies beneath the both of them, near the horizon.View larger. Evening dusk on August 5: Venus at left. Mercury is climbing higher, toward Regulus (at top) and Jupiter (beneath Regulus).View larger. Evening dusk on August 6, 2015: Regulus at top and Mercury at bottom, with Jupiter in between.View larger. Evening dusk on August 7, 2015: Venus is off by herself to the left. The triangle of lights to the right: Regulus (brightest star in the constellation Leo) at top, Jupiter at bottom and Mercury in between.View larger. Evening dusk on August 8, 2015. Venus is off to the left. The trio of lights at the right: Mercury at top, Jupiter at bottom and the star Regulus in between. Mercury (unlike Venus, Jupiter and Regulus) is climbing away from the glare of sunset, to present its best evening apparition of the year for the Southern Hemisphere in August and September 2015. View planet animation August 3-8
Dr. Peter Lowenstein has contributed many beautiful and fascinating images and stories to EarthSky. Trained as a geochemist, he spent his early years with the Geological Survey of Papua New Guinea, specializing in metals and volcanoes. In 1989, he moved to the Zimbabwe Geological Survey as Chief Economic Geologist and has lived and worked in Zimbabwe ever since. Peter is now retired to Zimbabwe, in a house with a beautiful view in Murambi East, Mutare, where he pursues favorite hobbies including construction of electronic gadgets, listening to music, gardening, surfing the Internet ... and photography.
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