Saturn

Saturn happens to be very close to the Earth right now, so I wanted to get a shot of it if I could. I was most interested in shooting it on the night of July 15th/16th, as it was going to be in conjunction with the moon. But, it's been raining here for the last two days when I wanted to take the picture. Finally, at about 4.20 a.m. this morning, there was a small break in the clouds for about 15 minutes and I managed to get this shot. It's not very clear, but I think it's pretty impressive considering I used a DSLR with a zoom lens of only 210mm! Mounted on a tripod and using the self-timer so as to minimize potential blur.

Camera: Sony Alpha SLT-a77v DSLR
Lens: Minolta AF Zoom 70-210mm F/4.5
Shooting Program: Manual
ISO: 400
Aperture: f/9
Shutter Speed: 1/40
Date: July 16th, 2019, 4.20 a.m.
Place: Norris City, Illinois, U.S.A.