Jupiter, Venus Conjunction in the Western Sky

Look up in the western sky as the sun goes down these next few nights and catch of a glimpse of the celestial mechanics of our solar system. You’ll see Jupiter and Venus in conjunction with the crescent moon. The planetary alignment will be visible all around the world as long as the skies are clear at sunset.

March 17th 2012:  Updated photo of the Jupiter Venus Conjunction! Image taken from the Onizuka Center for International Astronomy Visitor Information Station on Mauna Kea. Located at 9,300 feet (2,800 meters) above sea level, this visitor center offers prime dark sky viewing conditions.

 

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Jupiter Venus Conjunction with Orion and a Satellite Track taken March 17th, 2012

Updated photos from Saturday, 25 Feb at end of post!

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Android 4.0 Screenshot of Google Sky Jupiter and Venus conjunction-Feb-2012

 

Tomorrow night, Saturday February 25th, the Jupiter Venus Conjunction will form a triangle in the sky with the crescent Moon, creating a stunning celestial display against the backdrop of a glowing sunset.

 

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Jupiter Venus conjunction skymap 25Feb12 -- Image Credit: NASA

 

Go outside just before sunset in your area and enjoy the Jupiter Venus conjunction show!

Updated photo of the Jupiter Venus Conjunction with the crescent moon taken February 25th 2012:

 

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Jupiter-Venus-Moon-conjunction taken with the Nexus Galaxy phone camera in Silicon Valley 25 Feb 2012

And an updated Android 4.0 Nexus Galaxy screenshot below of the Google Sky Map rendition of the conjunction. Of course Jupiter has much more detail in the Google Sky app than you can see in with the naked eye.

 

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Jupiter-Venus-Moon conjunction Nexus screenshot of Google Sky 20120225