The two planets were suppose to be even closer together in the sky on Saturday night, but heavy clouds in the west only allowed Venus to shine through.

Here is a shot I got of the two on Friday evening at sunset. This photo was taken using my Nikon D60 with a Sigma 105mm.

It was a nice night early on, cold and fairly clear to the East and directly over head. By about 9:00 PM there were some clouds moving in from the Southwest. A thin layer of clouds covered the sky by 10:00 PM so I called it a night a little earlier than I wanted.

Orion Nebula | 01/03/09 19:10 EST - 6x30secs - Prime Focus

Moon 01/03/2009 - 1/200 exposure - Prime Focus

I need to practice focusing some as most of the shots I took were just a hair out of focus. I also took a few shots of the Andromeda Galaxy but they were just too out of focus.

When I set the scope up early in the afternoon, Venus was visible in full light. I wanted to try out the T-Connector and camera in the daylight to minimize the fumbling at night. I took a quick shot of Venus and here it is:

Venus - Early Afternoon - 01032009 - 1/200 exposure - Prime Focus

Kind of cool being able to see this planet well before dark. Looks like a miniature half Moon.