Tonight, I received text (SMS) messages about a Planetary Conjunction of Venus and Jupiter, two of the 8 Planets in the Solar System. These two Planets happen to be above the Crescent Moon forming a giant Smiley in the Sky.
Follow up:
I wasn’t able to take a photo because it wasn’t good from my vantage point. The Heavenly Smile was already low in the horizon with all the electrical wires criss-crossing what would have been a very good shot.
Instead, I went back to my computer, fired up Celestia and Stellarium and took two screenshots. The first one below, taken from Celestia, is how this rare formation looks like out there in space. The second screenshot is how it looks like on the ground, from the Philippines (and Asean) point-of-view.
I only wished that this formation happened a little deeper in the night so we could have a very good and long view up in the darkness of the night sky. As you will see in the first screenshot (as explained – a shot from outer space), the two planets and the Moon are positioned well into the day side of Planet Earth, thus we only have an hour or two window to view this phenomenon, just look West and a little South in the horizon (not up).
But who cares if it occurs in the twilight? As I’ve said, this is rare. It is not every night that we see the Heavens smiling to all of us, giving us Hope in the darkest days of our Human History.
Enjoy!
Screenshot 1 (Celestia): How it looks like in Space.
Top-Left: Jupiter; Bottom-Left: Venus; Right: Moon
Screenshot 2 (Stellarium): How it looks like on the ground (Asean point-of-view)
Top-Left: Venus; Top-Right: Jupiter; Bottom: Crescent Moon
Trivia: Did you know that Venus is called the Bright Morning Star and the Bright Evening Star?
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One response to “The Heaven Smiles Upon Us”
I don’t think the title of your article matches the content lol. Just kidding, mainly because I had some doubts after reading the article.