Starry Nights @ SFU: Blogs & Pics

Planet & Moon Watch December 2 2008

High-resolution copies of selected celestial images are available for download from these blogs,
and print nicely on inexpensive photo paper with a basic colour or B&W printer.

The sky to the south-west at dusk early in the first week of December featured a beautiful trio of the planets Venus and Jupiter along with the crescent Moon (the three brightest objects in the night sky!). The three objects were closest together on December 1, but the skies in Vancouver were overcast that night. We held an SFU starry-night gathering on December 2, despite clouds which rolled in near sunset. Those of us who gathered on the west side of the AQ, at the top of the steps overlooking Convocation Mall, got lucky, as occasional breaks in the clouds in just the right directions allowed us to see all three objects, with the naked eye, and through the SFU telescope.

This image shows a few of us looking out to the south-west. If you inspect the image carefully you may notice Venus poking through the clouds, about 1/4 of the way down from the top-right corner of the image. Thanks to Ehsan Shokrgozar for this excellent shot, featuring a great composition, and a striking balance in the lighting between the observers in the foreground, and the Schrum Science building in the background.

After its conjuction with Jupiter, Venus gradually climbed higher in the sky at sunset, while Jupiter became all but lost in the glare of twilight. Venus reached its greatest apparent angle (or elongation) from the Sun on January 14, while Jupiter moves behind the Sun (conjunction) on January 24, and will reappear in early morning skies to the East in mid February.

After its greatest elongation, Venus will gradually move closer to the Sun. If you follow its motion over the next two months, and take note of its position in the sky at dusk every chance you get, you will be astonished at how rapidly it approaches the Sun (Venus will reach "inferior conjunction", passing between us and the Sun, on March 27).

BTW, a wonderful (but very old-school!) video account of the December 2008 conjunction of Venus, Jupiter, and the Moon can be found on the web site Jack Horkheimer: Star Gazer. Horkheimer is the wacky director of the Miami Space Transit Planetarium, and he hosts a delightful 5 minute weekly digest on what you can see in the sky with the naked eye. Watch the full 5 minute episode for the week of November 24 - November 30 2008, called The Three Brightest Night Time Objects Meet In A Terrific Extraterrestrial Trio. Horkheimer's weekly videos are a great way to keep up with the changing astronomical skies, and episodes are posted about a month in advance. Be sure to checkout his full web site, and watch the latest episodes: http://www.jackstargazer.com.

Copyright © 2012 Howard Trottier

Starry-eyed
@ SFU since Nov. 2007