On April 26, 2025, I captured the rare “smiley face” conjunction of the Moon, Venus, and Saturn.
For a moment, it truly felt like the universe smiled right back at me. I’m not a morning person, but that day I woke up at 5:25 AM, driven by pure excitement. I rushed up to my terrace with sleepy eyes and a racing heart. Living in a small town really helped! The sky was clear, the air was fresh, and the scene was just perfect.
The moon was the big, bright smile, and Venus and Saturn were like tiny, sparkling eyes. By the time I grabbed my camera, they had started drifting apart, but I quickly adjusted the settings to fit them all into one frame. This turned out to be one of my favorite shots ever.
Picture Information
- Date and Time: April 26, 2025, 5:43 AM IST
- Location: Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India
- Camera: Fujifilm FINEPIX HS35EXR
- Camera Settings: ISO 200 | Shutter +2 sec | Aperture Auto | White Balance Auto
- Photo Credit: Nihal Sayyad via wondersinspace.com
Note for journalists/editors: This image was featured in BBC Sky at Night Magazine and Sky & Telescope under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license, and the image shall only be shared under these conditions.