The planet Venus is the third brightest object in the sky, after the Sun and the Moon. It’s a very common sight to see Venus blazing brightly in the sky as the “Evening Star” after sunset, or as the “Morning Star” before sunrise.
MORNING PLANETARY CONJUNCTION: Keep an eye on the morning planets in October, to observe their magnificent planetary dance. Mars and Jupiter line up in a conjunction on the morning of Saturday, October 17. But if you are up and around each morning before then, notice the subtle changes in the positions of these bodies from day to day. Start… Continue reading
MORNING PLANETS IN OCTOBER: On mornings in October, 2015, you can see the planets Venus and Jupiter in the eastern sky, among the stars of Leo. Look to the east in the morning as the famous constellations near Orion are hanging high above the southern horizon. Also notice that the brightest star Sirius is in the sky, along with Jupiter… Continue reading
LUNAR CONJUNCTIONS THIS WEEK!!! On the morning of Thursday, October 8, the Moon will be closest to the bright planet Venus, and will form a line with all the other morning planets, as shown. On the morning of Friday, October 9, the Moon will be in conjunction with Mars, though it will also be closest to Jupiter, as seen from… Continue reading
OCTOBER MORNING PLANETS! In the month of October, 2015, the Sun is aligned with the constellation Virgo, and four of the five visible planets are to the west of the Sun in the constellation Leo, and thus can be seen in the morning sky, before sunrise. Jupiter and Venus are shining brightly, and are joined by Mars and Mercury! Follow… Continue reading
If you were reading our newsletter in the spring and summer of 2015, you read that we enjoyed a rare extended alignment of the blazingly bright planets Jupiter and Venus. If you missed those newsletters, you can read them in the online newsletter archive. As we frequently explain, Venus and Jupiter are the brightest “stars” visible in the sky, respectively… Continue reading
LAST LUNAR CONJUNCTION! Venus and Jupiter are descending together into the sunset throughout July, following their big conjunction on June 30. Keep an eye on these planets on the evenings of Friday, July 17, Saturday, July 18 and Sunday, July 19 as the waxing crescent Moon joins the scene. This will be the last evening conjunction of the season between… Continue reading
Following the close conjunction of Jupiter and Venus on June 30, these planets will continue to share the evening sky throughout the month of July. They will also remain close to the bright star Regulus, in the constellation Leo. In a very rare and special circumstance, the cycles of Venus and Jupiter will coincide so that these planets will remain… Continue reading
CONJUNCTION REPORT: The weather was a tease all day, with thunderstorms and intermittent showers in between breaks of Sun. I had already committed to setting up my telescope at our church, but had low expectations. But God was gracious and provided everyone a view that we could not have expected. About 30 people arrived at the church, and a… Continue reading
PLANETARY CONUNCTION!!!! At last!!! On the night of Tuesday, June 30, Jupiter and Venus will be right on top of each other! At the precise moment of conjunction, best visible from Australia and the Pacific Ocean, Jupiter and Venus will be separated by a mere 0.4 degrees. This is LESS than a single diameter of the Moon! To put… Continue reading
The convergence of Jupiter and Venus culminates on Tuesday, June 30, 2015 with a CLOSE CONJUNCTION of these planets! At their closest approach, these two planets will be SO CLOSE, only 1/3 of a degree, or 20 arcminutes apart! This is close enough to fit inside the same field of view of binoculars, or a telescope at low power!… Continue reading
