If you have been outside at sunset recently, you may have noticed a beautiful conjunction of planetary bodies to the west. Usually I don't get a very good view of the sky from my house because of all the tall trees around. However, the other day I walked out onto the back deck to put the cover on the BBQ and was immediately struck with this spectacular view!

The bright "star" towards the top of the photo is actually the planet Venus. The moon is fairly new and is showing a beautiful crescent pointing right at the setting sun. The faint "star" to the left of the moon and slightly below it is the planet Jupiter.

This photo doesn't quite do the scene justice, as Jupiter didn't turn out quite as bright as it appeared to the naked eye, but you can still get a feeling for how gorgeous this scene was. Of course, as the sun got lower and the sky got darker, it got even better, but by that point the action was all taking place behind the trees.

Technical details: This photo was taken with my 5D Mark II + Tamron 28-75 at 59mm, ISO 400, f/8 for 1/30th of a second.