This picture of Venus and Mercury was taken at 17.46 GMT on Thursday 6th February 2007 from Edinburgh, Scotland and the planets were seen in the twilight sky about 45 minutes after sunset in the WSW. Venus is the brighter of the two and higher in the sky.

The above picture was taken with a Fuji S2 Pro digital camera with a Sigma 24-70mm EX DG lens at 70mm. 1/2s at f/4, ISO 200. The original image has been cropped and the contrast enhanced in Photoshop.

Mercury is a fairly elusive planet to observe as it never appears to stray far from the sun in the sky and it isn't as brilliant as Venus. In this springtime apparition, its location is marked out by the brighter planet and the two are only separated by 6 to 7 degrees. The structure at the left of the picture is Murrayfield Stadium.