Tag: venus

Venus and Jupiter conjunction! Right now!

#Venus and #Jupiter #conjunction! Right now!

Top of a palm tree against a deep blue sky, two white dots off to the side and very close to each other.

#stargazing #astronomy #planets #BlueSky #photo

On Wandering.shop

Followup: I got a better photo using the good camera and tripod after I got home

On Wandering.shop

Gotta love when someone freaks out over something that’s been CHANGED OMG! when it’s actually normal & they just hadn’t noticed.

Gotta love when someone freaks out over something that’s been CHANGED OMG! when it’s actually normal & they just hadn’t noticed.

For example: “President A skipped out on event B for the first time EVER!” even though presidents C,D, and E skipped it regularly…

Or “What is that light in the sky! OMG!” Um, it’s Venus, it’s been there all month…

The airplane contrail off of the Calif. coast that people mistook for a missile launch a couple of years back…

Every time there’s a major earthquake and suddenly people are watching+reporting every tiny quake so it looks like the frequency is going up

Or those Youtube videos where the narrator was sure something had been done to water because you NEVER saw rainbows in sprinklers before?

“Doctor, will I be able to play the violin after the operation?” “Absolutely.” “Wonderful, I never could before!”

Why Venus looks so much brighter than Jupiter.

Why Venus looks so much brighter than Jupiter. (This is something I don’t usually think about, but over the past month, with the two planets in the same area of the sky, I’ve really noticed it.)

Originally shared by Philip Plait (The Bad Astronomer):

Venus still blazes Jupiter, but 10 times as bright

Venus and Jupiter are still near each other in the sky, and will be for the next few days. Just go outside after sunset and face west; you can hardly miss them!

Venus is the brighter of the two by a long shot. That might seem weird; after all, Venus is about the same size as Earth, but Jupiter is over 11 times wider (and 140 times the area)! So why is Venus brighter?

Math! At least, math + geometry + science. Let me show you…

Jupiter and Venus still blaze in the west

[Image credit: Robert Blasius at fotografie.robert-blasius.de as part of Astronomers Without Borders]

Photo of last night’s closest approach between Jupiter and Venus.

Photo of last night’s closest approach between Jupiter and Venus. Jupiter is bright, but as you can see here, Venus is a lot brighter.

Edit: Apparently tonight is the closet approach. I could swear I’d read that it was Monday. Looks like I’ll be taking another photo tonight.

If you have a clear view of the western sky after sunset, go out and look sometime this weekend. Venus and Jupiter are getting really close (visually), and will reach their closest alignment on Monday.

If you have a clear view of the western sky after sunset, go out and look sometime this weekend. Venus and Jupiter are getting really close (visually), and will reach their closest alignment on Monday.

Today, I watched a lunar eclipse, sunrise, and sunset. Probably a first.

Sunset over the ocean.

Today, I watched a lunar eclipse, sunrise, and sunset. Probably a first.

Venus & Jupiter just popped into view. It would’ve been nice to add Mercury too, but it’s below the horizon.

Also: I really should’ve brought gloves.

If I’d thought about it, I could have gone back to the spot where I watched the sunrise this morning to catch the moonrise for full symmetry. Oh, well.

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Lia BrownCool! I don’t think it was visible here…and it was so cold last night I wouldn’t have had much patience anyway…

Dec 10, 2011, 7:38 PM

Kelson VibberYeah, I think you might have been able to see the beginning of it in your area, but not much else.

Dec 10, 2011, 11:06 PM

Wendi HeckathornWhere did you watch it at?

Dec 11, 2011, 2:10 AM

Kelson VibberI watched most of the eclipse from home (well, across the street), then went down to an area of Redondo Beach where a street runs along a bluff above the beach (Esplanade & Avenue A). I tried to watch the moon set while eclipsed, but the sky was too light by then to really see it at that point, so I drove over to an east-facing hill to watch the sunrise. I came back to Esplanade at the end of the day to watch the sunset.

Dec 11, 2011, 11:25 PM

Wendi HeckathornThat’s awesome! I’m bummed I missed it, but I did enjoy seeing the beautiful full moon. Thanks for sharing the gorgeouspics you took. 🙂

Dec 12, 2011, 12:36 AM