See Jupiter and Venus on December 1st
On Monday, December 1, 2008 you can observe both Jupiter and Venus in the night sky in close proximity to the moon in North America. This can be observed with the naked eye, and since they are right by the moon you pretty much have to be in your sleep number bed catching Z’s already to miss it. Either that or be in a big city with big lights.
Another thing to look for if you get the chance is what is called “earthshine”. This is when you can actually see the entire moon in the sky, but the part that is not illuminated by the sun is illuminated by the Earth. It will be slightly darker than the part illuminated by the son. This phenomena is sometimes called “the old moon in the young moon’s arms.” Leonardo da Vinci was the first to recognize it.
In Europe you are in for an even bigger treat. An eclipse of Venus where the moon passes in front of it. This is quite a rare occurance, and will be visible in complete darkness across much of Eastern Europe. Farther west, Venus will disappear behind the dark part of the moon either during evening twilight or just before the Sun sets. When Venus emerges, it will look like a brightening jewel on the slender lunar crescent. For virtually all of Europe, the Sun will have set by then, the exception being southern Portugal.
This is a very rare sighting indeed as quoted below from Space.com:
Such favorable circumstances are quite rare for any given location. For example, the last time London was treated to such a favorably placed Venus occultation such was back on October 7, 1961. And after 2008, there will not be another similarly favorable Venus occultation for the United Kingdom until January 10, 2032. So be sure to make the most of this upcoming opportunity.
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Filed under: Space by JMH
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Here is how I saw the event from Bulgaria. Venus is partially eclipsing from Moon. During the eclipse the brightness of Venus was changing randomly, as I think, according to the Moon’s relief.
Hey Dimitar,
Thanks for sharing, although I can’t seem to get to your page for some reason. Haven’t used a Live account before, although I do have one and it won’t let me go directly to your page to view it.