NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day 25 Feb 2023: Moon shares sky with Venus, Jupiter
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The night sky these days is getting adorned by a special meeting of some celestial objects. Skywatchers must be aware that Venus and Jupiter are all set to make their closest approach soon. Ahead of the conjunction, NASA shared a magnificent image of crescent moon occultation captured by a landscape astrophotographer – Fefo Bouvier. Occultation basically refers to the temporary disappearance of one celestial object as it moves behind another object, as observed from a particular vantage point.
NASA said while sharing the photo, “On February 22, a young Moon shared the western sky at sunset with bright planets Venus and Jupiter along the ecliptic plane. The beautiful celestial conjunction was visible around planet Earth. But from some locations Jupiter hid for a while, occulted by the crescent lunar disk.”
Captured at Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay, the dominant gas giant of the Solar System was seen on camera just as it vanished behind the dark edge of the Moon. The tranquil scene of the Río de la Plata and the sky also features a bright Venus, which can be seen shining low on the horizon amidst the fading twilight. The best part is that if you look up at the evening sky next week, you will see Venus and Jupiter in close proximity to each other. When and how? Know all here.
Jupiter and Venus planet conjunction
NASA has confirmed that “there’s a meetup happening in the western sky: the crescent Moon sits close to Jupiter, with Venus below them. Jupiter and Venus will continue to cosy up until March 1, when they’ll be at their closest.” To see Venus and Jupiter close together in the evening sky, astronomy enthusiasts should direct their gaze towards the west-southwest horizon approximately one hour after sunset. With minimal light pollution and clear skies, it is possible to observe this phenomenon with the naked eye. However, for a more detailed view, a telescope would be necessary.
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Source link NASA Astronomy Picture of the day, Feb 25th 2023 showcases the shared view of the moon with two of our bright morning planets, Venus and Jupiter.
These three celestial bodies peer above the horizon during this evening, a phenomenon that occurred during the evening of the 24th, and one that will not happen again until the morning of the 26th .
In this picture taken from Sainte-Catherine, a commune in Southwest France, the moon appears as a bright white orb of light, that on this evening was illuminated by 56.1% of the full moon typical brightness. To the right, two bright points of light appear in the sky, Jupiter, the fifth planet from the Sun, and Venus, the second planet from the Sun.
At the time the photo was taken, Jupiter was at a distance of 590 million miles from Earth, while Venus, was at a distance of only 105 million miles, making it appear considerably brighter in the night sky.
In the days ahead, these three celestial bodies will be seen in a different arrangement. Jupiter in particular, due to its greater distance to Earth, will appear to move much slower over the night sky, although an observer should be able to view both Venus and the moon for many evenings beyond tonight.
The scene on this evening was simply breathtaking and a warm reminder of the amazing beauty of our universe. With the never ending interaction of our Sun, Moon, planets and other celestial bodies, the sky will remain ever dynamic and ever changing.
