Tunç Tezel from Bursa, Turkey
Mercury’s rapid motion through the night sky is captured in this composite, capturing the nearest planet to the Sun over Bursa, Turkey, at dawn from Sept. 14 to Oct. 6, 2023. (Click for the full-resolution image and a clearer view.) Mercury’s motion is from left to right, getting higher in the sky and brighter as its phase waxes. It peaked in the sky Sept. 23, 2023, at greatest elongation. The imager used a Canon DSLR to take ½-second exposures at ISO 400 through a 50mm lens at f/3.2.