The "Great Conjunction" of November/December 2008

The two brightest planets are Venus and Jupiter, so a conjunction between them is always worth a look. When the Moon joins them for a "triple", the result is bound to be spectacular! Venus had been climbing out of the twilight during the summer of 2008 so with Jupiter slowly descending in the opposite direction a meeting was scheduled for 1st December. Not particularly close (2deg) but with the Moon in the mix some good photo-opportunities were guaranteed. Even more dramatically, the Moon actually occulted Venus (for observers in Europe) during the afternoon of the 1st!

Below are some pictures I took of the events as they played out against Laxfield All Saints Church, chosen more for "artistic interpretation" on this occasion rather than "technical merit"!

By 16th November Venus was high enough in the sky and near enough to Jupiter to start to make a good picture. It was also a time of some dramatic sunsets! A couple of days later it was obvious that the separation was reducing.

After a few cloudy days, the skies cleared on 23rd November to reveal the the distance had now halved - a wide-angle lens was definitely not required! That was it for over a week, regrettably, meaning that the actual 3-body conjunction was hidden behind cloud. A day after closest approach, on 2nd December, the three still made a fine sight though, with the planets separated by 2.4deg and the crescent Moon (with Earthshine) hovering nearby.

The final shot was taken on 3rd December with the Moon rapidly departing the scene, leaving Venus to encounter Neptune at Christmas and Jupiter to head to its own conjunction with Mercury at the turn of the year.

And what about the occultation, I hear you say? Victim to another chapter in the story of the year, I'm afraid - cloud! The sky was perfectly clear the day after, of course, but not at the critical moment! Unfortunately, for me that's it for a very long time now as far as Venus is concerned. There a few events over the next 30yrs or so but they are so close to the Sun that it's doubtful I shall be able to observe them. Plenty of other things to look at though!

Back


By 16th November Venus was high enough in the sky and near enough to Jupiter to start to make a good picture. It was also a time of some dramatic sunsets!	A couple of days later it was obvious that the separation was reducing.

After a few cloudy days, the skies cleared on 23rd November to reveal the the distance had now halved - a wide-angle lens was definitely not required! That was it for over a week, regrettably, meaning that the actual 3-body conjunction was hidden behind cloud.	A day after closest approach, on 2nd December, the three still made a fine sight though, with the planets separated by 2.4deg and the crescent Moon (with Earthshine) hovering nearby.

The final shot was taken on 3rd December with the Moon rapidly departing the scene, leaving Venus to encounter Neptune at Christmas and Jupiter to head to its own conjunction with Mercury at the turn of the year.