Saturday, February 25, 2012

Venus-Lunar Conjunction February 25, 2012

Yes, the night (and even day) of February 25 will bring us a special conjunction of the Mon and Venus, of which might be able to be seen in the day, it is so bright! Although it might seem that Venus is that bright, it being farthest from the Sun now, means it's luminosity is greatly increased, but viewing Venus in a sky of blue is harder than you think, and Sky and Telescope paraphrases it well, "That problem [seeing Venus in the day] is solved on Saturday, when the crescent Moon points the way. As long as the air is clear, Venus should be visible any time in the afternoon, but it will get easier as the Sun gets lower."

Venus and the Moon, February 25, 2012

Going out an hour before sunset, look for the moon (the chart above is for different locations), and then look for Venus. Try to get the Sun out of view, a building or lush tree will work, so that only the moon is in view. From there, locate the moon (it being a waxing crescent will not help any, though) and just two or three degrees the lower-right of the moon is Venus, waiting! Jupiter will be too dim to locate now, but Jupiter is easily accessible after the sun sets. Read more from Sky&Telescope. [Images below are Jupiter, Venus, and Moon after sunset on February 23, 2012].




2 comments:

  1. saw it last night had to find out what it was
    it was beautiful

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  2. The conjunction of Venus and the Moon was spectacular. Images will be posted soon; even Jupiter [which was much farther up to the left of Venus] added serendipitous flavor to the event!

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