On the evening of December 1, between 5:30 to 6:30pm (Monday), there will be a conjunction between the planets Venus and Jupiter. What makes this conjunction special is, just about 3 degrees below the two planets, is a thin crescent moon. The trio will therefore form a "smiley" over the western sky...
(screenshot I took of my Starry Night Pro software showing the western sky over Cebu City, on December 1, 2008.)
The prelude to the conjunction is already visible since last week--if you view the western sky everyday (provided wala ga ulan hehe), you notice two very bright "stars" moving closer and closer each day--these are not stars--this is Jupiter (less bright) and Venus (brighter one).
So, if you want to see this simple yet funny sight, just hope it doesn't rain!
Take note,
you don't NEED ANY INSTRUMENT-JUST YOUR TWO EYES! So there's no excuse for you not to look up and see it
I don't know if I will attempt to shoot the scene, as I don't have very good equipment, but a modest DSLR setup with a telephoto lens can capture this scene effortlessly (so heads up to aspiring astrophotographers out there!). I have a photos of Venus (solo, non-Conjunction) with the Crescent moon in my DeviantArt gallery, and that only used a simple point-and-shoot digicam.
ADDENDUM:
This is strictly to Narnia fans. In the book (not movie) "Prince Caspian", Dr. Cornelius was lecturing to Caspian about the conjunction between the planets Tarva and Alambil. Prince Caspian is woken by his tutor, Dr Cornelius, in the middle of the night and taken up a dark stairway to the top of a tower. There he sees the conjunction of two planets: "Tarva, the Lord of Victory, salutes Alambil, the Lady of Peace." According to Dr Cornelius, "Their meeting is fortunate and means some great good for the sad realm of Narnia."
Basically, I think C.S. Lewis himself witnessed a conjunction between two planets (possibly Venus and Mars), and thus got inspired by this and incorporated it into "Prince Caspian"
I am
not a believer in astrology--I am an amateur astronomer--two different things. But, if it so happens you think that the meeting of Jupiter (Roman chief god) and Venus (Goddess of Love and Beauty) is significant, and a sign of something (good fortune or bad), that's entirely up to you.
-RODION