Event Date: June 17th
Time: 5:34(.30) AM
Brief
Tonight is part three of the Venus-Jupiter-Moon configuration series; the three brightest objects in the morning or evening sky when the Sun is below the horizon. Yesterday, Jupiter was precisely between the other two by a little under 9º for a short time. Since then, the Moon has moved further east against the stars, passed very close to Jupiter as seen from locations in eastern South America, as well as western Africa and Europe. As seen at some locations on the globe, the Moon occulted Jupiter, grazed the planet, or became very close to either. This evening, we see the three grouped together in a field slightly smaller than 9º.
Time: 5:34(.30) AM
Brief
Tonight is part three of the Venus-Jupiter-Moon configuration series; the three brightest objects in the morning or evening sky when the Sun is below the horizon. Yesterday, Jupiter was precisely between the other two by a little under 9º for a short time. Since then, the Moon has moved further east against the stars, passed very close to Jupiter as seen from locations in eastern South America, as well as western Africa and Europe. As seen at some locations on the globe, the Moon occulted Jupiter, grazed the planet, or became very close to either. This evening, we see the three grouped together in a field slightly smaller than 9º.
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| click on image to enlarge: courtesy of Starry Night Pro Plus, version 6.4.3, by Simulation Curriculum Corp. |
Venus continues to close in on Jupiter, with the conjunction worth looking forward to in early July. Can you predict the exact date, after watching Venus speed towards it in retrograde? Hint: Venus is slowing down in retrograde yet very gradually, while much slower moving Jupiter is still moving somewhat quickly in pro-grade. In the next image, I will show a star that may be barely visible near Venus as it starts to escape atmospheric pollution: Aldebaran, which we saw often in the evening sky during the evening. At the time, I was featuring of the Winter Circle, is starting to escape the glare of the Sun. Venus is moving away from the star gradually with its retrograde movement now, yet will revisit Aldebaran again starting the second week of July. When it does, we will see the two closer together and better placed with a larger separation from the Sun. Until that time, enjoy Venus close with Jupiter, which is much brighter than Aldebaran. The field of view of Venus and Aldebaran is 5º with the two currently about 3.1º apart this morning. Also seen in the field, dimmer Epsilon Tauri (magnitude 3.5) is only about 0.9º apart from Venus. In two evenings, they have their closest encounter, and I will reveal the minimum separation then.
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