Over the past few weeks, you might have noticed two bright lights in the night sky that stuck close to each other night after night. These weren’t stars, but rather the planets Jupiter and Venus traversing across our view. On Sunday, the two planets lined up with our moon in a spectacular conjunction made all the better by Rick Ellis’ multiple exposures, tracking the progress of the triplet as they make their way across the sky.
If you’re keen to get a look at Venus and Jupiter together, you still have some time. However, the gas giant will be creeping closer and closer to the horizon until it is finally invisible against the setting sun. This disappearing act should last from around April 24 to late June when Jupiter will be visible again during the dawn hours.
The great thing about this particular conjunction of planets is how easy it is to pick out, and can be photographed with even modest equipment. Though it’s far from comparable to Ellis’ work, I managed to snap a picture over the weekend in Denver with an iPhone 4S.
Incidentally, Ellis has the best website I have seen in a long time.
(via Universe Today)
- Jupiter’s core may be dissolving
- Weird Kelvin-Helmholtz Waves seen on Jupiter, Alabama
- The history of the moon in three minutes
- We’re running out of helium, better mine the moon for it
