Preparation of composite from three reduced images. Minimal application of Star-Spikes Pro filter to make planets more clearly visible.

Conjunction of Venus and Mercury.
After approaching each other on December 27th (top image), Venus and Mercury paired up on the 28th and 29th and were visible close to each other in the fading twilight sky about 40 minutes after sunset. On the 27th and 28th Mercury was higher than Venus and on the 29th it had moved a short distance below. In the top image all the lights are on in Chikanga Township due to power having been provided over the Christmas Holiday. In the lower images most of the lights are out due to regular load shedding by the power utility! More information on the December conjunction of Venus and Mercury at
https://earthsky.org/tonight/venus-and-mercury-pair-up-december-28-2022/