Harelipfrog

Sunday, November 07, 2004

Stars

My mother was driving to work Friday and saw what she initially thought was a pair of airplanes. But they did not move. So she called Gunner and asked him to find out what they were. It turns out they were planets, specificly Venus and Jupiter.

The first week of November will be an exceptional time for predawn
skywatchers with a beautiful gathering of the two brightest planets, and the
waning crescent moon will later drop by to join them.

Venus and Jupiter will appear closest together on the mornings of Nov.
4 and 5.


For those of you that missed that particular sight, you still have something to look forward to:

After Nov. 4, Venus and Jupiter will slowly separate, but there will still
b one more eye-catching sight.
On the morning of Nov. 9, those who arise
about 45 minutes before sunrise will be treated to a spectacular sight as Venus,
Jupiter and the moon - the three brightest objects of the night sky - form a
stretched-out triangle, the moon appearing closely above Jupiter.
Imagine
the astrological significance that the ancients might have ascribed to a
celestial summit meeting such as this!
As a bonus, the 1st-magnitude star
Spica and the planet Mars barely miss being part of this assembly; look for them
respectively about 17 and 22 degrees below the moon if the sky is clear and dark
enough.

Check the link if you are interested in the complete text of the article from Space.com.

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