Spectacular conjunction

T

Tao_Equus

Guest
Over the next few nights in the South western sky just after sunset can be seen two brilliant points of light. They are Venus and Jupiter. Each night they will appear closer and closer together. But on the 30th the fine crescent of a new moon will join the show. And on the 1st of December the two planets will not only be at their closest together they will be right next to an Earth lit crescent moon, that is when there is the brilliant crescent and the darker shadow that lights dimly the rest of the moon. This is a very unusual and spectacular show and well worth looking for in the early evening sky.

tao
 
Hopefully the cloud cover of the expected rain won't completely spoil the show here...that should be interesting to see.
 
I've been watching and anticipating...

Also listening to a book on tape, 'What you don't know about the Universe'. Quite interesting how astrology and astronomy were intrinsicly linked for centuries. Also that during a transit of venus across the sun astronomers were sent around the globe to watch and then report back. Some didn't return but those that did provided enough info to calculate the distance earth and venus were from the sun...great stuff how early these calculations were made and within a percent of accuracy so long ago with such crude instruments.

The author relates our amazement of the exploration of Columbus with such small boats with what folks will think a few centuries from now about us and the hubble and our space station.

Back to the thread, is it any wonder thousands and even hundreds and even today that folks attribute so much to the stars and to the 'heavens' when it provides us with such light shows??
 
Thanks Tao,

It's my daughter's eighteenth on this 30th Nov. (coincidentally, her birthday falls on the same date every year ... spookey, eh? :p )

Hope to catch the show.

Thomas
 
I caught the show above the western horizon on the evening of December 1st..

Really spectacular with the Moon and everything.. I thought it was Jupiter and Venus and checked it out on a NASA site and confirmed it.. Very cool through bonoculars too..! I showed my wife too as I always like to share heavenly things with her.:)

- Art
 
The 30th here was cloudy, but the first was clear skies. I was driving home on a road which wiggled back and forth putting the sky scene on the left and then the right and occasionally straight ahead.

When it was straight ahead it all became HUGE, and then when left or right (actually the road turning left or right not it, perspective is such fun) it was smaller again, and then in front of me an HUGE.

The pollution from rush hour cars on the highway and its close proximity to the horizon gave me a great 'harvest moon' affect, magnifying the events participants, quite the show. Made for nice 50 minute commute to watch it all in the sky whilst calling friends and family encouraging them to go outside.

2052 before it happens again, my 15 year olds will be telling their grandkids when they saw it last.
 
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