Moon to move in as Jupiter and Venus separate

 

By Nick Collins, Science Correspondent

 

 

 

On Monday night the planets, which are separated by an almost unimaginably large distance, appeared to be almost rubbing shoulders as their orbits aligned.

 

At their closest point the planets, which were easily distinguishable from the stars due to their intense brightness, were just a couple of degrees apart – the width of two fingers held at arm's length.

 

After Tuesday night they will begin to drift apart once more, with Jupiter falling lower in the sky while Venus rises towards the end of the month, but the astronomical spectacle is not over with the Moon set to enter the equation.

 

On March 25 a slim crescent moon will rise three degrees to the right of Jupiter, and the following night it will appear two degrees south of Venus – an event forecast by Sky at Night magazine to be "quite a spectacle in its own right".

 

The magazine advises readers: "On both dates, look out for the faint glow of the non-illuminated portion of the Moon's disc. It's a phenomenon known as earthshine, because the glow results from the reflection of light from the Earth."

 

Two and a half months later in the first week of June comes the most anticipated planetary event of the year – an extremely rare transit of Venus across the Sun.

 

The most devoted amateur astronomers will travel to eastern Asia, eastern Australia or Alaska to watch the planet appear to pass directly in front of the face of the Sun.

 

Those remaining in Britain will still be able to see a partial transit as the Sun rises, and with the next not due until the year 2117 the event is expected to have a keen audience across the country. Telegraph