Last month, planet Saturn aligned with our Moon perfectly. The event known as conjunction occurred on March 29, and a photographer called Grant Peterson made the most of this opportunity. He chronicled the phenomenon on his smartphone that was mounted on a telescope.
Peterson captured these breathtaking images above from Johannesburg, South Africa, and took to social Twitter to share the stellar moments.
“That was frickin spectacular,” Petersen’s tweet read. “I’m smiling from ear to ear, nothing gonna get me off this astronomy high.”
The image is actually a combination of several other shots, and it shows Saturn just before it slipped behind the Moon. Peterson also said that he’s constantly on the lookout for “the next big astronomy event” that will be visible from his location.
Petersen told Business Insider that he had “a lot of anticipation and excitement running up to the event”
“When an event like this comes along and all goes according to plan, and [we] can avoid issues like weather, equipment failure, or human error, it feels like a great accomplishment,” he said.
As the ringed giant edged toward the Moon, the photographer recorded it in 60fps. After the event got over, he merged the photos and video frames to get a clearer picture.
“I felt like a kid at Christmas,” Petersen said. “I got a comment that said it reminded them of the first Earthrise pic from the Apollo missions.”
Petersen hopes to capture the transit of Mercury across the sun on November 11. “I am really looking forward to that already,” he said.
