A Short Planetary Parade Among the Stars

This morning’s sky over Lahore was a sight to behold—a cosmic canvas painted with the finest clarity of the season. A slender waning crescent Moon gracefully ascended beside Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury, while the twin stars Castor & Pollux shimmered nearby. The Beehive Cluster (M44) was also visible in my capture just near Mercury, completing this stellar arrangement.

All the seven planets—Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune—will all be visible in the night sky over the next few days. While Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn glow bright enough to catch with the naked eye, Mercury peeks close to the horizon, and Uranus and Neptune require binoculars or a telescope to be seen .

With the atmosphere at its clearest, this dawn became one of the most beautiful predawn twilight skies one can wish for from Lahore.

Canon 1300D, Canon EF 50mm f/1.8
Ioptron sky tracker legacy series

Single tracked image of 30 seconds, ISO 100, f/4