Jupiter and Venus to provide astronomical show

Seattle - Not usually within such brilliant visual range, Jupiter and Venus will be spectacular tonight as they align with the crescent moon for an outstanding astronomical show.

Between the two, Venus is the brightest planet and will remain in the southwest sky throughout December; Jupiter however, will be on the descent toward the western horizon through this month. The alignment is unusual and if skies are clear, the visual effect will be prominent and most people will believe the two planets to be stars.

Luckily, the moon is in the crescent stage. If it were full, the brightness of the planets would be tremendously decreased, and our view from earth would be not as grand. Oftentimes, Venus, at a magnitude of negative four, has often times been so bright; it has been mistakenly labeled as an airliner. Jupiter, at negative two, will still be visible in cities where there exist less viewable skies due to pollution and city lights.

While the planets and moon might look like they are at arm’s reach because of their fierce unusual brightness, this is not the case. Consistently, the moon is at a distance of approximately 250,000 miles from earth, while Jupiter sits at an amazing nearly half billion miles. Venus, the earth’s sister planet, will be over 93 million miles away.

But be prompt, this astronomical nature show will take place only an hour after sunset, soon afterward, Venus and Jupiter will be headed apart. This show lasts only tonight and will last for only a couple of hours.

Around the world, the conjunction of moon and planets will appear differently. For stargazers in Australia, the three points of light will create a smile face (with the crescent moon creating the mouth), for those in Europe and Africa, the moon will appear between the planets, creating more of a lineup, and the Americas will see a frown face.

Although this arrangement has been around for weeks, they will all appear brightest this evening. 5:00 PM is the best time to get out of the house to view the event.

This is not the first time this has occurred. The crescent moon and star symbols (which are actually planets) have been represented on a number of country’s flags around the world. Malaysia, Mauritania, Tunisia, Pakistan and Turkey are among a few.

Although the moon will be in its crescent phase, “earthshine” will enable us to see the remaining disc of the moon, which will appear dark blue against the night sky.