Stargazers Treat: Spectacular Moon-venus Conjunction Today

[savramesh 37]

Stargazers can look forward to a spectacular celestial view on Saturday as planet Venus will appear together with moon in the evening sky.

As the sun sets, one can look southwest to see the rare phenomenon during which the moon will form the conjunction with Venus, popularly known as goddess of love.

The celestial event will be visible to the naked eye till 9th March.

The close conjunction will help in locating Venus in the daytime provided the sky is clear without any haze, Nehru Planetarium Director N Rathnasree said.

The planetarium is conducting a workshop to ascertain the position of Venus in the sky by using the Ram Yantra at Jantar Mantar in Delhi.

According to N Raghunandan Kumar, founder and secretary of Planetary Society of India in Hyderabad, to spot the planet one has to look west after sunset.

"One would observe a bright star like object which is planet Venus," he said.

The two brightest objects in the night sky, Venus and Moon, can be seen through city lights and even fireworks.

The celestial event will be visible from all parts of the world, even from light-polluted cities. Only cloudy weather or a midnight sun may spoil the show.

Conjunction is an alignment of two or more celestial bodies (usually the moon and planets) in the sky, from our vantage point on Earth. (DD-28.2)

Source DD News

Attached pic is taken yesterday

Edited February 28, 2009 by savramesh