Moon, Venus, Jupiter on December 1
Photo: James P. Wells
Monday, December 1, 2008.
Have you noticed the two bright objects low in the west after sunset?
They’re Venus and Jupiter, and you’ll find them in a beautiful arrangement with the waxing crescent moon in the evening twilight sky. They’re the brightest lights up after the sun goes down. But remember that all three of these worlds – the moon, Venus and Jupiter – shine by reflecting the sun’s light. Here they are in their order of brightness – the waxing crescent moon- the queen planet Venus – and the king planet Jupiter.
If you live at mid- and far-northern latitudes – like in North America or Europe – the moon, Venus and Jupiter appear low in your southwestern sky in early evening. If you live south of the equator – maybe Australia – this threesome appears almost due west after sunset.
If you live in Europe, you might not see Venus for a portion of the evening, even as you’re looking at the moon and Jupiter. As seen from much of Europe this evening, the moon will occult – or pass in front of – Venus, blocking the planet from view for an hour or more.
So no matter where you live, watch for the moon, Venus and Jupiter after sunset. They set about 3 hours after the sun. If you have binoculars, turn them on these objects to see the soft glow of earthshine on the dark part of the moon!
As seen from much of Europe this evening, the crescent moon will occult – cover over – the planet Venus for a portion of the evening. At Leipzig, Germany, for instance, the moon will occult Venus from 16:07:34 to 17:25:27 Universal Time (5:07:34 p.m. to 6:25:27 p.m. Central European Time). The occultation times for your sky are listed on this International Occultation Timing Association (IOTA) page.
look tonight
Saw the two planets last night while traveling south on I-87 in upstate NY. I did not know at the time what I was looking at, but could guess this was something special. Glad I found out from this website what I was looking at last night. Thanks!
Will either of the planets appear on the edge of the crescent moon
creating the “Diamond Ring” effect? That is a beautiful sight. I’ve only seen it once.
Frank,
As seen from much of Europe, Venus will sit on the dark side of the lunar crescent immediately before it is occulted (covered over) by the moon. What you’re probably more interested in is when Venus will reappear on the lit side of the moon immediately after the occultation. This information can be found on this International Occultation Timing Association (IOTA) page. According to IOTA, Venus will be sitting on the lit side of the moon at 5:08:17 p.m. in Dublin and 5:16:41 p.m. in London. I’m sure it’ll be a great photo opportunity!
Bruce
Frank,
In the first sentence of my previous correspondence, I should have said that Venus will be sitting on the edge of the moon’s dark side immediately before Venus disappears behind the moon.
Bruce
Is this fascinating sighting visible for a few more days? And does anyone know how often this takes place?
I saw them last night, can’t wait to see tonight, the evening sky was clear and great viewing last night, hope this evening is the same.
What a great sight from the state of Victoria, Australia @ 9.16pm to see a happy face in the sky in what has been hard times lately. Puts a smile on my face.
its beautiful!!!
from our place northern part of Luzon Philippines, my kids says there is a smiley face in the sky
its beautiful!!!
from our place northern part of Luzon Philippines, my kids says there is a smiley face in the sky
its beautiful!!!
from our place northern part of Luzon Philippines,
my kid says there is a smiley face in the sky
IT’S THE BEST SUN SET I EVER SEEN,I WISH I CAN SEE IT ONOTHER TIME^_^.WHEN WILL WE SEE IT NEXT TIME?
I saw the crescent moom and jupiter aligned with venus
As if the sky put a smile. Its awesome and I was amazed. We live in South East Asia.
So many see a smiley face in the sky! I love it. The next good evening conjunction of Venus and Jupiter will be on March 15, 2012. If you haven’t done so already, how about joining the EarthSky Community on face book.
I’ve seen that amazing formation of Venus, Jupiter and the moon, it’s like smiley face… – Philippines –
the view looks great
the view looks great
How often does this happen?
its as if, God gives us a smile that all our problems, current political situation, economic problem, world concerns will soon be gone… and that God gives us a smile which will put an end to all troubles of mankind…. its really amazing…. im from Luzon, Philippines…. God bless us all….
Please take a look the pictures taken from Bangkok, Thailand.
http://funscience.gistda.or.th/rainbow/smiley_1dec08/index.html
Pitan,
Thank you for your photos from Bangkok, Thailand. Nothing like a grand sky scene to promote good will around the world!
Bruce
I have seen the amazing simile of Venus, Jupiter and the moon. It was just like God was smiling and many people returning the smile. We watched all this in the beautiful African Capital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It was gr8 night!
Des.
www.GrandHolidaysEthiopia.com
Don’t know if it was Jupiter or Venus but in tonight’s sky it looked like the Moon had a tail. My kids were amazed – Dublin
We watched it last night in Coffs Harbour Australia. It was Magical….I agree with all above left us all with a big smile on our faces.
I knew I was seeing something special tonight – I’m so glad I found this website. An amazing sight on just a Monday evening in Sleepy Hollow, NY.
December 1, 2008
Venus, Jupiter, Crescent Moon Meet in Republic of Turkey.
For pictures:
http://kendihalinde.wordpress.com
and
http://galeri.sabah.com.tr/?galerisec=3306
Its amazing from NH! WOW! Its very bright it lights up our clear northern sky
Wow!!! The moon, Venus and Jupiter are so bright in North Carolina!! Thank you for sharing this site.
With all of the unadulterated chaos on this planet, this single event should remind us all that we are insignificant and tiny in the universe. God is truly an artist and continues to give us beauty and elegance in His blessings.
my 7-year old daughter came home from school saying that her teacher said something special was happening in the sky tonight. we’ve been planet-gazing and watching the spectacular sight, she can go to school tomorrow and say that she saw her first planets (besides Earth). it was really nice to share the moment with my family.
Here in Florida, got to see a glimpse of them before the clouds rolled over them. But what my boys and I saw was cool. Wow……….
I won’t see this again in my lifetime. It was beautiful here in southern Virginia. Christmas can’t be far away.
I had the chance to see it here in Cape May, NJ. It is a crystal clear night and the moon, Venus and Jupiter are shining brightly. I wish I could have taken a picture!!!
Wow, what a awesome sight. I live in Rancho Cucamonga, Ca and work right below the foothills of Alta Loma,Ca. I saw the moon and Venus at sunset before I saw Jupiter come out. My friends didn’t know what it was. I remember reading something on this on Yahoo.com but forgot until I saw this beautiful sight.
saw the amazing sight last night…i never thought that was jupiter and venus. i was overwhelmed thinking that God smiled at me…i wish i can see them next time..
From Baltimore, Maryand USA it was a fantastic sight to see. Crisp, clear, early winter skies made for a great show just past sunset. All three hanging as if suspended from an unseen Hand, just above the southwestern sky. I wish I had a picture….
This was an amazing sight over the Phoenix, Az skies tonight. It was nice reading your accounts from other parts of the world. I also enjoyed seeing the photos submitted. The moon has completely blocked Venus from view. Waiting to see it surface again.
Absolutely amazing! Even friends of mine that never paid attention to things like that where amazed tonight. The sight placed lots of smiles on peoples faces. I’m extremely happy to have been able to see such a sight from my home in New York City.
I saw it last night here in Zambia, Africa and the sight was great. It’s was like a nice, bright, smile and two shing eyes. * ) *
Trevor.
We saw it here in Baghdad, Iraq. Had no idea what we were looking at but thought it must be special. Sky was very clear and an overall great view of something very rare.
Accidentally looked up yesterday evening on the way home from work and saw Venus emerge from behind the bottom right of the crescent moon with jupiter shining bright and loud over the moons right viewed shoulder. Made me stop and think. And then text everyone I know to look up! This was about 1.5 hours drive NW of Dublin, Ireland.
What an amazing site! Unfortunately I did not have a camera with me and my cell phone didn’t do the trick. I’m smack dab in the center of NY. Truly a stunning site!
In Vermont, it was more of a sad face than a happy face, but it was still pretty cool to see!
yeah ive seen last week though and i thought it was a satelite then on december 1, it was top of the moon..so cool =) really beautiful
From Harrington Park New Jersey to Vernon New Jersey Driving home with my two teenage son’s we were amazed by the beauty in the sky.
What a beautiful sight! Not a smiley face – but no matter. It was lovely to see those three lights there in the fading sky. I managed to catch it on the seafront of Whitstable, UK and grabbed a few pictures. I couldn’t catch it all together properly on my camera but i managed to combine the pictures together to create a composite. Click on my name to take a look – i hope it works!
we saw it more as an up-side-down frowning face until about 9 or 9:30 on 12/1/08 it was really cool
-dallas,texasA Filipino photographer (Marvin Uy)from Manila, Philippines captured a closeup shot of a smiling moon here in Manila last Dec. 12, 2008. Please visit this site to see the photo at
http://digitalphotographer.com.ph/forum/showthread.php?t=19312
A Filipino photographer (Marvin Uy)from Manila, Philippines captured a closeup shot of a smiling moon here in Manila last Dec. 1, 2008. Please visit this site to see the photo at
http://digitalphotographer.com.ph/forum/showthread.php?t=19312
Saw it here in Aston, PA, USA last night on my way home from work. Could not keep my eyes off of it. It is there again tonight. Not as beautiful, but spectacular just the same!
What a sight here in Manila, Philippines! My sister and I viewed it last Monday, Dec. 1, 2008 while on our way home on the bus. There were three bright lights in a clear dark sky. It was like somebody smiling over us from the sky… It was such a revelation to me from God that everything is under His control. Regardless of all the economic crisis we are facing which are felt all over the world right now, God is and will always be Sovereign and Almighty! Amidst all the trials and chaos, we could all still smile and put our trust in God. All praises & glory to Him who reigns forever and ever!
Wow. I live in Ireland, and it was amazing. I loved seeing that. Im 15, and will probably never see something as baeutiful in my life. :)
Wow. I live in Ireland, and it was amazing. I loved seeing that. Im 15, and will probably never see something as baeutiful in my life. :)
wow…ang ganda…hhehe. sana buhay pa ako sa sunod na magpakita uli un…
I saw the smiley in the night sky in Japan too. It was beautiful in the downtown Tokyo. Although the Tokyo is pretty brightly city, that smiley was overwhelming it! :-)
A picture from Karachi, Pakistan.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ahsan-abidi/3076344965/in/set-72157603237501061/
SAR,
Thanks for the photo from Pakistan!
Bruce
Had the chance to take some photos. Had a wonderful time watching the sky here in Mexico City! http://www.flickr.com/photos/eduardoo/3077223511/
Sincere thanks to EarthSky for every single day’s advise!
Eduardo
Eduardo,
Thank you for your photo from Mexico City.
Bruce
I have seen it from INDIA. calicut on December 1st 8.10 PM IST. was beautiful & amazing. i have never seen it in my life. i thought stars around the moon.. but next day i known it was jupiter & venus. GREAT to see it. i felt Lucky
I saw a very bright star last night that looked like it was flashing blue and red. I used my binoculars and could also see what looked like green flashing also. It didn’t move and was very bright compared to the other stars. I live in north central Idaho and it was in the east. Could anyone explain this to me? thank you
Rena,
If you were looking southeast around mid-evening, you were looking at Sirius, the brightest star in the nighttime sky! If you were looking northeast at nightfall or early evening, it was probably Capella, another bright star – though it’s nowhere as bright as Capella.
When a brilliant star is close to the horizon, the starlight has to pass through a much thicker layer of the Earth’s atmosphere than when the star is high overhead. The thicker atmosphere acts like a lens or prism, breaking up the starlight into flickering colors. For this reason, bright stars nearby the horizon tend to sparkle wildly and to exhibit the colors of the rainbow! For more on Sirius, check out the fairly recent EarthSky Tonight show Find Dog stars on December late evenings.
Bruce
Bruce,
Thank you for the information. I love watching falling stars, eclipses, etc. but don’t know when they happen most of the time. And I don’t know much about all this. So I was puzzled why the different colors. I believe it was more northeast but not sure of that. It was about 9:30 p.m. when I noticed it. I think I will subscribe to the newsletter to learn more. Maybe a new hobby for me!
Mulomba,
I was with my friend at around 19:00hrs Zambian time on 8th December, 2008 when I looked up to the sky only to see no star except the Moon and two (2) stars like besides it. I told my friend we all were astonished. when I reached Home I told My sister and Brother. We enjoyed the view with other Zambians. but the following day we heard on our local TV News that the stars like things were planets Jupiter and Venus. I still want to know more about the Same. please you can e-mail me on mulombah@yahoo.com. I’m really interested in knowing what was happening. please tell me your views
Rena and Mulomba,
Let me provide a few links, so that you can subscribe to EarthSky programs and/or join the EarthSky community.
Bruce