I traveled to the top of the famous Mauna Kea volcano in Hawaii to capture the moment Saturn slipped behind the moon. This was captured using a 14″ telescope I borrowed on the island.

by ajamesmccarthy

2 Comments

  1. This photo required traveling to Hawaii due to the local nature of these occultation events. It was actually visible from my backyard, but so low on the horizon it would have been extremely distorted from atmosphere. Going to the top of Mauna Kea was also guaranteed good weather, as it put me above the clouds. Instead I was fighting the health concerns being with less oxygen while setting up the heavy equipment. As a result I came back with the flu but I think it was worth it.

    [I just posted a video of the behind the scenes, including how this looked in real time through the telescope here](https://www.instagram.com/cosmic_background/?hl=en)

  2. MidnightCephalopod on

    First thought: this person went to space!

    Second thought: the moon looks wild!

    I love how Saturn appears like it’s almost shy, like “hey y’all, how’s everyone doing over there?”

    Amazing shot, honestly beautiful

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