I saw these sky views of Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn near the extended-stay hotel I frequented in Jacksonville, Florida. Images were taken 2017-2019 either during the early evening or the pre-sunrise morning.

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Not long after sunset on January 1, 2017, Venus was a bright spot in the sky not far from the moon.
[Venus is a bright white spot in the upper left of the image. The moon is bright in the lower right of the image at less than 25 percent full, but the entire circle of the moon is faintly visible.]

The next night, January 2, 2017, the moon was between Mars and Venus. (Mars was more visible to my naked eye than what the camera was able to capture.
[Mars is a small light-colored dot in the upper left. A quarter moon with a bright haze around it is in the middle of the image. Venus is a bright white dot in the lower right. To the left of each orb is its name in white letters.]

Several weeks later on February 1, 2017, I was able to capture Mars and Venus relatively near each other. Mars has a definite reddish hue.
[Mars is a brownish-red orb in the upper middle of the image. Venus is a bright white orb in the lower right of the image. ]

In a different portion of the sky a little later that same evening, I saw the Moon, Mars, and Venus at the same time. (More light from the surrounding buildings blurred the celstial orbs in this image.)
[The Moon is in the upper middle of the image. Mars is a faint dot at about five o'clock in relation to the moon. Venus is a bright white dot at about five o'clock in relation to Mars, but it's closer to Mars than Mars is to the Moon. To the left of each orb is its name in white letters. Palm fronds in the upper right are also labeled as are the electrical power lines and poles in the lower left. ]

By early April, Venus became visible in the morning sky just before sunrise. (April 12, 2017)
[This is a street view with the street lights still lit while the lower portion of the sky starts to turn red-orange. There is a line of clouds on the horizon below which is the orange-red sky and above which is the clear dark blue sky. Venus is a bright white spot above and to the right of a street light post. To the left of Venus is its name in white letters.]

The white dot in the very center of the image, framed by the tree branches, is Mars just after sunset. (August 27, 2018)
[Above the roof of the building in the foreground are two very large trees with the one on the left appears to be at least 15 feet taller than the one on the right. Near the point in the middle where the branches of the two trees meet is a bright white dot which is visible against the still light blue sky.]

In the predawn hours of April 5, 2018 I went outside to photograph Mars (bottom) and Saturn (top). I didn't manage to keep the camera steady, but this does show how Mars has an orangish hue and is brighter (closer to Earth) while Saturn is whiter and not quite as bright.
[The sky is dark except for what looks like two falling stars. Mars in the lower left is a thick yellow-orange strip of light. Saturn in the upper right is a thinner white line.]

Near sunrise that morning of April 5th I photographed the Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and the brightest star in the Scorpius constellation, Antares.
[The sky has begun to get light and trees are visible at the lower left and right. Saturn is just above and to the right of Mars on the left side. The near-full moon sits in the middle of the sky slightly above the line between Saturn on the left and Jupiter on the far right. A bit below and to the right of the moon is the star Antares. The names of all the orbs are in white to the left of each orb.]

I woke at 2a.m. and noticed a very bright "star" under the moon. The "star" was Jupiter. (April 3, 2018)
[This sky view has clouds passing by and in front of the moon. The light reflecting from the moon to the clouds lights the sky. Jupiter near the bottom of the image is a bright white dot. White text labeling the moon and Jupiter were added to the right of each orb.]

On the morning of the full moon (behind the trees on the right), I captured another image of Jupiter (to the left of the metal light). (April 30, 2018)
[The sky is a medium blue just before sunrise and the trees and parking lot lightstand are clearly visible. Light from the full moon is visible through the leaves of the tree on the right. Jupiter is a bright white dot at the same level as the top of the light fixture but to the left of it.]

I captured Jupiter near its peak height in the evening sky on a day it was said to be its brightest for this year. (May 8, 2018)
[The sky is near black and is all of the image except for the top of a chain-link fence in the bottom right corner and the tops of some trees in the bottom left corner. In the center of the darkness is a bright white spot.]

The white dot in the upper left is Jupiter, the brighter one in the middle of the image is Venus, and on the far right is the moon sliver just after sunset. (September 11, 2018)
[The upper portions of the sky are becoming a darker blue, but the rest is still a lighter blue. There are several bright lights near the trees and building and some dark clouds at the horizon, but the rest of the sky is clear except for the three orbs, Jupiter, Venus, and the moon, already described.]

Not long after sunset on November 30, 2019, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn and the moon were visible at the same time.
[The sky is a dark blue with all visible orbs nearly in a line from the upper left to the lower right of the image. At the bottom is a parking lot with its lights making the leaves of the trees visible in the lower left and the lower right. However, those lights are far enough from the sky orbs that they are still visible. The names of the planets and the moon are white text to the right of the orb.]

The prior night, November 29, 2109, Saturn was visible higher than the moon.
[The sky is black behind the moon and Saturn. Saturn is at two o'clock relative to the moon. Although the white part of the moon is a quarter sliver in the lower right section of the sphere and is very bright, the entire sphere is visible. The non-bright portion of the moon is shades of grey against the black sky and the shades of grey correspond to the valleys of the moon. The name of Saturn and the moon are white text to the right of the orb.]

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All photos © S. M. Garver