The moment Saturn touches the Moon with ... phone

On March 29, Saturn and Moon line up so close that they almost touch each other in the universe.

This event is known as planetary engagement , often occurring but easily missed. Fortunately, on Earth, astronomer Grant Petersen had the opportunity to capture this engagement by using a smartphone attached to the telescope.

Petersen took a beautiful photo above from Johannesburg, South Africa, then shared the picture on Twitter so that the whole world could see it.

The picture was taken high above from Johannesburg, South Africa.

Petersen posted a tweet with his photo: " This is really a magical scene. I was laughing so hard, and nothing could make me less happy when I took the astronomy picture like like this ".

This result is actually a combination of many photos, and it shows people the image of Saturn just before the planet is filled behind the Moon before dawn.

Like many astronomers, Petersen said he was constantly searching for "the upcoming big astronomical event" that appeared at his place. Sometimes the event is the passing of comets or asteroids, other times it is the International Space Station passing by.

Petersen revealed, to study the impending phenomenon, he used many applications and astronomy diaries.The association between Saturn and Moon has attracted Petersen's attention since January and he had to plan to record this moment.

Petersen told Business Insider that he had " anticipated a lot and was extremely eager to get closer and closer to the event" , with signs of rain falling in Johannesburg the night before the phenomenon began. However, bad weather then became clear, revealing the clear night sky at the exact time of the event.

Photographer said: " When an event like this happens, it all goes according to plan and we avoid any problems like weather, device errors or negligence, we feel here. is a great achievement ".

Petersen woke up at 4:00 am, about two hours before the association happened to arrange and inspect his equipment. His device includes an 8-inch Dobsonian telescope - though relatively cheap but quite large and useful, a Galaxy S8 smartphone, an adapter for connecting phones to telescopes and eyepieces (eyepiece). .

When Saturn approaches the Moon, Petersen captures the phenomenon at a rate of 60 frames per second. After the meeting, he handled the images using stacking techniques - combining some low-quality images into a brighter and clearer image. After that, the photographer shared his best photos on Twitter.

Petersen said: " I feel excited as a child at Christmas. I also get a comment saying that the picture reminds them of the Earthrise picture (Earth grows - photo taken from the face of the Earth). moon) from Apollo missions ".

Petersen also took the picture below, which shows how miniature Saturn would look 950 million miles away from Earth. The planet seems to be a very small piece compared to the moon's diameter, which is so small that only the tip of your finger is pointing when you raise your arm in the sky.

Saturn is small when 950 million miles away from Earth.

Petersen said the next big event he hoped to capture was the image of Mercury moving through the Sun on 11/11. Photographer said: " I've started really looking forward to the upcoming event ".