If you’re looking to see a fantastic show this month, go
outside at sunset and look west. Throughout June, Venus and Jupiter, two of the
brightest objects in our sky, are converging They'll
glide closer and closer to each other until they appear to form a single bright
glow on the horizon.
Their slow dance started at the beginning of the month, with
both planets visible low in the sky at dusk and early evening. On a clear
night, you can’t miss them: after the Sun and the moon, Venus and Jupiter are
the third and fourth brightest objects in the sky. Last night, June 20, the planets
were just 6 degrees apart—and even more interesting, they were joined by the waxing crescent moon to form a celestial triangle. Looking at this apparent joining of celestial bodies with the
naked eye was no doubt a thing of beauty.
Of course, in reality they’re nowhere near each other—Venus
is 67 million miles from the sun and Jupiter is 484 million miles—but from our
perspective, they will seem very close for a very short amount of time. On June
30 and July 1, the show culminates as Venus and Jupiter appear just one-third
of a degree apart, which is less than the diameter of the moon when it’s
full in the sky. They'll be so close, you'll be able to hold up your pinkie
finger to the sky and cover both planets at once. This is the first occurrence since 2005.
NASA’s ScienceCast has a video about the
phenomenon: The pair will go their separate ways after July 1 when the
full moon rises. But keep your eyes on the sky, because July features a second
full moon—known as a blue moon—on the 31st. Happy planet gazing!
Talk about a celestical lovemaking!
Thanks to Romance Author Linda Banche for discovering this first.
Thanks to Romance Author Linda Banche for discovering this first.
Kaye
