South African amateur astrophotographer, Grant Petersen‘s smartphone photo is anything but amateur. The Johannesburg space enthusiast captured an incredible image with both a telescope and his smartphone in late March when both Saturn and the moon lined up perfectly in what is known as a conjunction, Business Insider SA reports.
Petersen, a self-proclaimed astrophotographer managed to captured an incredible and eerie shot during the occultation of Saturn and the moon. This occurs when a larger mass is made smaller or hidden by another mass that passes between it and the observer.
Take a look at Grant’s images below and read more local news right here.

That was frickin spectacular. This mornings #Moon #Saturn #Occultation at ingress from #Johannesburg captured with a #GalaxyS8 7mm eyepiece 2 x Barlow and 8" Sky-watcher dobsonian telescope. 5 sec vid run through PIPP and stacked with registax #Smartphone #astrophotography pic.twitter.com/H8sSirrS2Z
— GrantPetersen (@GP_O11) March 29, 2019
A South African recorded Saturn 'touching' the moon with his phone, and the stunning pictures are going viral across the world | @BISouthAfrica https://t.co/BPNtE9lD9f pic.twitter.com/UQQC334lZW
— News24 (@News24) April 25, 2019