Beehive, Mars, and Venus

Twice this year (2025), the beautiful open star cluster Messier 44, also known as “Beehive” or “Praesepe Cluster”, was seemingly visited by a bright planetary passerby as it is close to the ecliptic. For the first time, from the end of April to the first half of May, it was the red planet Mars. Second time, just these days, from the end of August through the beginning of September, by bright Venus. I tried to capture both of the “visitors” while passing Beehive into this one-time-lapse shot. The co-author is Pavel Štěpánek. More details here: https://www.petrhoralek.com/?p=25718

For the foreground image and positions of Mars, I used Canon Ra, Tamron 70-200mm@200mm, f2.8, ISO 2000, 30s exposures (spikes of Mars achieved with f4 and longer exposure). Foreground is stacked of 54 single exposures. For Venus, I used Nikon Z6III, ISO 2000, the same lens, exposures, and f-number. Every time, the equipment was set on a polar-aligned Vixen Polarie U mount.

Data of foreground stacked, data of planets' positions registered, and final color corrections