Venus-Jupiter-Moon

Soon after sunset on Monday 1 December 2008, the world will be treated to a grand spectacle in the western sky. The brightest planet in the sky, Venus, will have a close encounter with the second brightest planet, Jupiter, as viewed from Earth. The two planets will appear just 2.0° apart at their closest at 9h UT on 1 December.

Joining in on the tight Venus-Jupiter formation will be the young crescent Moon, which together with its Earthshine, will produce a wonderful celestial display that will be visible all around the world. Try not to miss it!

The apparent relative positions of Venus, Jupiter and the Moon will vary somewhat depending upon where people view the event on the Earth. The variations are due to longitude differences (time) and the effect of parallax (latitude) on the apparent position of the Moon. The sky maps below show the relative position of Venus, Jupiter and the Moon as they will appear from a number of locations around the world.