First the moon...:))
"Astronomical
conjunctions occur when celestial objects appear close to one another
in the night sky—this happens all the time and they’re not particularly
unusual. But a conjunction happening tonight is notable in that it
involves two very bright planets—Venus and Jupiter—and they’ll be closer
together than they’ve been since Terminator 2 was in theaters.
Over the
last month, the two planets have been drawing closer and closer together
in the sky, with tonight’s separation between them measuring only a
third of a degree. As the sun goes down—you don’t even have to wait
until dark since the planets are so bright—look to the west, where
you’ll see the brighter Venus alongside the dimmer Jupiter. They’ll be
so close together you’ll be able to hide both planets behind your pinky
finger." (source)
Tonight is a special night...Venus and Jupiter are meeting at their closest and I do not want to miss it. So before taking Miss Molly out for a walk, I went out myself hoping to catch at least not only a glimpse but also some pics of their celestial date. It has been a beautiful evening, very calm, not too many clouds and the moon lit the sky beautifully. As I am not used to take night sky pics, the quality is not particularly good. However, I want to show some of the photos as I think maybe a few of you might be interested in how Venus and Jupiter were looking like in Rodrigues...
"At
the beginning of June, the two planets were 20 degrees apart in the sky,
about twice the width of your fist held at arm's length. Week by week,
Jupiter and the stars behind it have gradually slipped lower in the
evening twilight. But Venus, due to its rapid orbital motion around the
sun, has stayed high up. The resulting slow-motion convergence put them 6
degrees apart last week, setting the stage for Tuesday's awesome
display.
Although the two planets appear very near one another in
the sky, they're actually not. Venus is 58 million miles from Earth, and
Jupiter is 12 times farther out at 565 million miles. The distance
explains why the two planets will look roughly the same size even though
Jupiter is far larger.
Sky & Telescope Contributing Editor
Fred Schaaf points out that this current string of Venus-Jupiter
conjunctions closely resembles a similar series between the years 3 and 2
B.C. It has been suggested that their joint appearance came to be known
as the Star of Bethlehem." (source)
Here some impressive pics which I found on the net showing the distance and the approach between June 15 and tonight...
15.06.2015 Cat Connor/ Mammoth Lakes,California
18.06.2015 Gary Sanchez/California
20.06.2015 Rakan Alduaij/At Deception Pass, Washington
20.06.2015 Juan Mario Perez Rayego /Mérida/Spain
22.06.2015 Grant Schwarzkopff/ Renmark, South Australia
24.06.2015 Steve Lacy/Southern New Mexico
29.06.2015 Roger Hillier/Buckinghamshire,UK
30.06.2015 Sylke Zapfe/Bayrischzell (Kreis Miesbach)/Bavaria,Germany
Sorry, no translation today, I think the photos speak for themselves....
Sorry, no translation today, I think the photos speak for themselves....
Sources:
he
two planets spend eight evenings, from June 27th through July 4th,
within 2° of each other (about a thumb's width at arm's length). Not far
to their upper left, appearing much fainter, is Regulus, the alpha star
in the constellation Leo. - See more at:
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/press-releases/venus-and-jupiter-june-30th/#sthash.XsEqUXSo.dpuf
- Tonight Venus and Jupiter Will Be Closer Than They've Been In 24 Years/gizmodo 30.06.2015
- Best photos: Venus and Jupiter after sunset/ Earthsky 30.06.2015
- Venus trifft Jupiter: Die schönsten Bilder/Merkur 01.07.2015
Related:
- A Smile in the Sky/ 08.12.2008
- Sternenstaub...Stardust.../05.09.2013
