I consider myself a fairly intelligent, college-educated individual, but lately, I’m seeing all these telescopic photos of the Jupiter/Saturn conjunction, and I’m confused as to how the two planets have close apparent sizes. How is this so, despite Saturn being millions of miles further away?
In: Physics
Maybe “close apparent sizes” is not what I meant to say. I think what is confusing to me is that, in the same photo (that is, at the same magnification), both planets are quite clearly visible. This surprises me, because with Saturn being almost twice as far away, and smaller than Jupiter, I wouldn’t expect it to be as visible as Jupiter at the same magnification.
Here is the image that prompted this post:
(Also, yes, I realize that this is a composite shot, as they are not currently, this close, but they were supposedly taken at the same magnification and just moved closer together in post)
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