Venus-Jupiter Conjunction, March 15, 2012, 6:00-8:00PM

[rodsky]

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“At the dead of night, two noble planets, Tarva and Alambil, will pass within one degree of each other. Such a conjunction has not occurred for two hundred years.” (Dr. Cornelius in C. S. Lewis' "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian")

The two bright objects you see everyday now, in the western sky, Venus and Jupiter, will be about three degrees from each other, on the evening of March 15, 2012. In recent times, this is the closest they will ever be--after March 15, they will start to drift apart once again.

Illustrated guide to Venus and Jupiter conjunction in March 2012 | Astronomy Essentials | EarthSky

Good photo op., barring cloudy skies.

-RODION

[blu bizcuitz]

March 15, 2012, 6:00-8:00PM (Western skies...) got it and noted...thanks sir rodsky...I always see those two bright lights everynight at the western skies...so they were Venus and Jupiter. I hope it would be clear skies at my place on that day and I hope I can make it in time.

[street_of_no_return]

makaklaro ra ba na ug naked eye?

[jangska]

ohoy payter kay sayo2 dli kadlawn maka kita jud ta. maynta di mag dagom.

[rodsky]

makaklaro ra ba na ug naked eye?

Yes. You see it daily (if there are no clouds) since late February pa...kanang duha ka hayag nga objects nga murag "star" in the western sky over Cebu...that's Venus and Jupiter...they will "meet" on March 15.

-RODION

[jesse5648]

wow prepare ko daan sa akong baratohon nga telescope ani


ask lang ko sir, unsa maning pleiades??

[rodsky]

wow prepare ko daan sa akong baratohon nga telescope ani


ask lang ko sir, unsa maning pleiades??

(from Wikipedia)

In astronomy, the Pleiades, or Seven Sisters (Messier object 45 or M45), is an open star cluster containing middle-aged hot B-type stars located in the constellation of Taurus. It is among the nearest star clusters to Earth and is the cluster most obvious to the naked eye in the night sky. Pleiades has several meanings in different cultures and traditions.

The cluster is dominated by hot blue and extremely luminous stars that have formed within the last 100 million years. Dust that forms a faint reflection nebulosity around the brightest stars was thought at first to be left over from the formation of the cluster (hence the alternate name Maia Nebula after the star Maia), but is now known to be an unrelated dust cloud in the interstellar medium that the stars are currently passing through. Astronomers estimate that the cluster will survive for about another 250 million years, after which it will disperse due to gravitational interactions with its galactic neighborhood.



MORE INFO HERE:
Pleiades - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[rodsky]

BTW, you DO NOT need a telescope to enjoy this event--both planets are very visible (barring cloudy skies), from 6-8pm on that day. After 8 kay mo-set na ang duha over the mountains of Cebu.

You only need a telescope if you want to examine Venus (which looks like a half-moon now, when magnified), or Jupiter up close. But to enjoy the entire view, it's actually better to view them using your eyes unaided by any magnifier.

Another good tool to have handy during the event is of course, a decent camera. Your camera doesn't have to be a DSLR, you just have to know how to fiddle with exposure settings to get a nice shot of this event, so even phone cams have a good chance of taking a good photo.

-RODION

[rick_mozy]

wow nindot ni dah.. mag-abot gyud ni sila, like an eclipse? unsay tawag ani, planet eclipse?

[rodsky]

wow nindot ni dah.. mag-abot gyud ni sila, like an eclipse? unsay tawag ani, planet eclipse?

No eclipse. Five degrees ang subtended angle sa ilang separation, layo-layo, but close enough for people to wonder and stare at.

-RODION