Venus and Jupiter are converging in the sunset sky for a close encounter on Aug.27th. Yesterday in the Snowy Mountains of NSW Australia, Phil Hart photographed the two bright planets approaching one another with Mercury looking on:
"A highlight of six days backcountry skiing in NSW was the planetary alignment of Venus, Mercury and Jupiter," says Hart. "It took a few nights to get the weather and scenery to cooperate, but after an hour of traipsing around and lying down in the snow, I managed to capture this shot on our last night out."
The view will improve in the evenings ahead as the distance between Jupiter and Venus decreases. At closest approach on Aug 27th, the two worlds will appear only about 1/15th of a degree apart. If you hold a pencil at arm's length, the eraser would cover both planets at once. Moreover, Venus and Jupiter will easily fit within a telescopic field of view--an amazing sight if you have a backyard telescope.
Remember, though, that a telescope is not required. Venus and Jupiter are bright enough to see with the naked eye even from light-polluted urban areas. Try to catch them about 30 minutes after sunset before the sky fades completely black. The sight of two planets in conjunction surrounded by twilight blue is extra-beautiful.
www.spaceweather.com
The view will improve in the evenings ahead as the distance between Jupiter and Venus decreases. At closest approach on Aug 27th, the two worlds will appear only about 1/15th of a degree apart. If you hold a pencil at arm's length, the eraser would cover both planets at once. Moreover, Venus and Jupiter will easily fit within a telescopic field of view--an amazing sight if you have a backyard telescope.
Remember, though, that a telescope is not required. Venus and Jupiter are bright enough to see with the naked eye even from light-polluted urban areas. Try to catch them about 30 minutes after sunset before the sky fades completely black. The sight of two planets in conjunction surrounded by twilight blue is extra-beautiful.
www.spaceweather.com
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