Venus/Jupiter Conjunction Tomorrow

TigerNut writes "I've been watching Venus and Jupiter creep closer together in the morning sky for the last few weeks, and tomorrow will be their closest approach, according to this table. The table also indicates this will be the closest that Venus and Jupiter will appear until 2014. Happy viewing! There's more on the conjunction at Universe Today."

Best viewing point?

[Nermal6693]

So, where in the world should you be, to get the best view? :)

Re:Best viewing point?

[lakiolen]

I would assume, from the article, the northern hemisphere; since it talks about it and shows consellations from said hemisphere.

Re:Best viewing point?

[Tablizer]

I suspect that some longitutes are better than others because the closest (visual) approach may last only about an hour. If your morning happens too early, then it will be too bright during the closest approach because the sun will already be up. If your morning happens too late, then the closest approach will happen before the planets rise above the horizon from your perspective.

Re:Best viewing point?

[LewsTherinKinslayer]

So, where in the world should you be, to get the best view? :)

Outside.

Re:Best viewing point?

[Tablizer]

Outside.

No, this is slashdot, dude. He wants an MPEG URL.

Re:Best viewing point?

[MrFreshly]

Please post the .torrent. TIA!

Re:Best viewing point?

[Alsee]

Please post the .torrent. TIA!

Site logged for monitoring.

-The RIAA

-

Re:Best viewing point?

[Underholdning]

Actually, you're more correct than you think. Not only do you have to be outside - you have to be really outside, since the best view would be from Saturn.
You can't see it from Earth due to the planets positions [enchantedlearning.com]

Re:Best viewing point?

[beuges]

if thats correct, i wonder if cassini has been set up to take pictures of this? im sure the space agencies would have known about this ages ago, and since cassini is in the neighbourhood, it would be pretty neat to get some close-up shots of if :)

Re:Best viewing point?

[Anonymous Coward]

I'd say Venus...

Re:Best viewing point?

[tonsofpcs]

How so? From Venus you would not see Jupiter and Venus line up, but rather Jupiter on one side, and Earth on the other.

--
Perspective is everything.

Re:Best viewing point?

[IBeatUpNerds]

I'd say on a spaceship in-between jupiter and venus. I've been drinking.

Re:Best viewing point?

[Gordonjcp]

I stay in Glasgow (about half-way up the west coast of Scotland, for the geographically-challenged). I saw the two planets very close together yesterday morning on my way to work. About 0600 they were fairly high in the east, and apparently about, er... (holds arm out with thumb and index finger about an inch apart) *that* far apart. Don't know what that is in arc units. Very cool. I would have stopped for a photo but I was on the motorway and running a little late.

Re:Best viewing point?

[Gordonjcp]

And this morning, they were a bit closer, and more beside each other than one above the other. It was a bit hazy, thin high cloud at around 2,000 feet, so seeing wasn't as good as yesterday.

Re:Best viewing point?

[leifbk]

Here in Oslo, Norway, the sky was clear and I had an excellent view of the conjunction on my way to work this morning around 7 o'clock [UTC+0100]. It was a rare and beautiful sight.

Re:Best viewing point?

[Idarubicin]

and apparently about, er... (holds arm out with thumb and index finger about an inch apart) *that* far apart. Don't know what that is in arc units.

For quick and dirty estimation, the width of a finger at arm's length is one to two degrees. The width of a closed fist at arm's length is about ten degrees. For a splayed hand, the distance from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the pinky finger is twenty to twenty-five degrees.

The hand and finger rules of thumb (ahem) hold reasonably well across most peo

Re:Best viewing point?

[Alsee]

roughly the same angular size as an Aspirin tablet at arm's length.

What would that be in VW Beetles at a furlong?

-

Re:Best viewing point?

[frizzbit]

Since closest approach was at 1:57 UT and Venus and Jupiter rise an hour before sunrise that means anywhere where it is dawn at around this time, which would be southern and eastern Africa, Saudi Arabia, Middle East, central Asia and eastern Siberia.

Your exact location does really matter though since the planets move slowly enough that the planets will still be very close if you look today or tomorrow morning. You need to get out just as dawn is begining to break and look in the east (the direction where the sun is early in the morning). Providing there is nothing much obstructing your view in that direction near the horizon you should be able to spot the two planets close together before the sun comes up.

How to know you're definitely looking at Venus and Jupiter?

They will be brighter than any stars but not by that much with Venus noticeably brighter than Jupiter.

Both pale yellow/orange.

Will rise together. You will not see their separation change unless you look the next morning.

Re:Best viewing point?

[garbs]

And if you're bored enough, you can keep track of Venus for most of the day, as it is visible during daylight (though you have to know where it is to be visible)

Of course, it's not the easiest thing to spot during the day however.

Re:Best viewing point?

[maximilln]

Today I came into work _REAL_ early (6 AM) and, as I was walking across the parking lot I noticed these two extremely bright bodies next to each other in the ENE sky. If noon would be straight up and nine would be the horizon, these were about 10-10:30. I was wondering,"What stars are those?" Then I noticed they weren't twinkling and remember reading the /. headline before showering this morning.

I'm not a big astronomer, but I never complain when I get to see nice events like this. I even told the morn

Re:Best viewing point?

[corsican]

Not always true. The twinkling is caused by density variations our atmosphere; if there is a high enough temerature differential between the surface air temperature and air aloft, and the air is turbulent, even the planets will twinkle (particularly Mars).

Now Jupiter and Venus are both large enough that they almost never twinkle, but with a telescope you can still observe their edges shimmering when conditions are as described above.

Re:Best viewing point?

[erick99]

If you live in the U.S. you should have a good view. Most astronomy sites say the northen hemisphere in general. On Nov. 9th the moon/Venus/Jupiter will form an impressive triangle worth seeing.

Re:Best viewing point?

[tonsofpcs]

Probably either NASA TV [nasa.gov] or behind the lens of a telescope or large telephoto camera lens.

--
My manual camera (Minolta X-370s or SRT-202 depending on my mood) should have a great view [260mm lens with 2x multiplier]

Re:Best viewing point?

[tonsofpcs]

Also, http://www.spaceweather.com/ [spaceweather.com] should have some pictures (it has some already).

--
In case of slashdot effect, please break braces, read comment.
<!--http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.spac eweather.com/ [archive.org]-->

What's so beautiful about conjunctions?

[Omni-Cognate]

I used to be into astronomy when I was a kid, in a sightseeing, rather than scientific interest kind of way. Sorry for the negative comment, but while there are many beautiful things to see in the sky, but I don't quite see how conjunctions qualify.

Through a decent telescope, the planets themselves are certainly pretty, and there would be some limited fun in being able to see two at the same time. With the naked eye or binoculars though, it sounds as though you could create an equally "beautiful" sight by

Worst case scenario...

[CausticPuppy]

If all else fails, you can simulate it [shatters.net] on your own PC.

Re:Best viewing point?

[amightywind]

I got a good view outside of my garage this morning. They looked like two diamonds, one smaller than the other, twinkling in the dawn sky.

Re:Best viewing point?

[Sai Babu]

well i got a great view this AM about 5 while walking the dog about 2 miles east of downtown atlanta. with the cold front and clean air it should be great tomorrow as well. looking just a bit south of east and maybe 20 degrees up.

Planet Triangle

[BortQ]

Shit, Mars is gonna FREAK OUT if he catches Jupiter slam-bamming his babe Venus. I sure hope they made sure that the sun is blocking their 'conjuction'.

Of course, I also hope that they are putting this show on pay-per-view, cause that Venus chick is HOT!

Re:Planet Triangle

[tuxter]

And Uranus is shitting itself.

Re:Planet Triangle

[Ohreally_factor]

And Uranus is shitting itself.

Because of the Penis-Uranus conjunction?

Damn, there goes my karma.

Re:Planet Triangle

[sik0fewl]

I think you'd hard a hard time finding a planet that's not incestuous, save Earth.

Re:Planet Triangle

[mrpuffypants]

I just don't see what a steamy celestial body like Venus could ever see in a big old fat bag of gas like Jupiter.

However, I've heard from this Soviet chick, Venera, that Venus is just crushing when it comes to the pressure that she exerts on anybody that even tries to get near her. Sure it's nice and hot the closer you get to the surface but, eventually, you just get squashed and she barely even notices.

Re:Planet Triangle

[Belial6]

It's because Jupiter http://www.occultopedia.com/z/zeus.htm [occultopedia.com] (AKA Zues) was the king of the gods! Everybody knows that chicks get all hot for men with power.

Re:Planet Triangle

[gearry]

Not only that, but there is a whole class of diseases [m-w.com] named for her. Jupiter should be sure to wrap it up [plannedparenthood.org].

Re:Planet Triangle

[Don Faulkner]

Well, any three planets (points) form a triangle, so what's new?

Obviously *NOT* the Age of Aquarius

[sconeu]

I thought Jupiter was supposed to align with Mars!

Re:Planet Triangle

[Zoxed]

> Shit, Mars is gonna FREAK OUT if he catches Jupiter slam-bamming his babe Venus. I sure hope they made sure that the sun is blocking their
'conjuction'.

Well, if you were familiar with the UK "newspaper" publishing buisness you would know the "The Sun" would be anything but "blocking" the "conjuction". They would print a grainy "exclusive" photo on the front page with some "whacky" title like "Jupiter thanks his lucky stars!!".

Please...

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't Slashdot the Universe.

Re:Please...

[momerath2003]

Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed. The ability to slashdot a server is insignificant next to the power of the Force.

Re:Please...

[tonsofpcs]

Duct tape is (like) the force. It has a light side, a dark side, and it binds the universe together.

Anyway, how are you going to cause a slashdot effect to the universe? Telescopes/cameras/computers don't tend to shut down planets (or other celestial bodies).

--
A <!--fnord--> GNU?!

Re:Please...

[Moderatbastard]

Anyway, how are you going to cause a slashdot effect to the universe? Telescopes/cameras/computers don't tend to shut down planets (or other celestial bodies).

Just a wild guess - are you a German, by any chance?

Re:Please...

[tonsofpcs]

1) That made no sense, and doesn't really matter 2) Not for at least 4 generations back 3) You still cannot cause a slashdot effect on the whole universe.

Re:Please...

[Moderatbastard]

1) Sorry, but it makes perfect sense.

2) Lack of a sense of humour seems to be a dominant trait

3) See 2).

Re:Cosmologically

[aiabx]

True, but speaking in terms of the lifetimes of astronomers, 10 years is a long wait.
-aiabx

Pictures!

[BisonHoof]

Excellent pictures here: http://www.digitalsky.org.uk/vj_conj_nov04.html [digitalsky.org.uk]

Re:Pictures!

[Gamasta]

Yeah, really nice pictures.

Notice also that close to the second biggest light source (meaning Jupiter) are several bright dots in a line. For those who have never seen this through a telescope, it was first observed by Galileu in 1610. Those are its four biggest satellites of Jupiter. You can see them well in the last pictures.

Re:Pictures!

[DarkBlackFox]

It was supposed to be cloudy up here in the Northeastern US, but I was pleasantly surprised to awake around 4:30am to a few breaks in the clouds, just enough to snatch a few pictures.

Venus & Jupiter 1 [earthlink.net]
Venus & Jupiter 2 [earthlink.net]

Re:Pictures!

[Necro Spork]

Venus is the bright one.

Re:Many eclipsi

[brilinux]

I am from Norhtern VA, but attend college in Pittsburgh, were I witnessed the total lunar eclipse. Incidentally, I also met a girl from the res hall in front of which I was standing. All in all, a good night, but I think that the eclipse was visible over quite a large area.

Re:Many eclipsi

[tuxter]

A Girl?

Re:Many eclipsi

[tetranitrate]

All in all, a good night, but I think that the eclipse was visible over quite a large area.

Lunar eclipses are visible to the whole world, at least those those that can see the moon between the times of umbral contacts, which is usually more than half the world.

During a lunar eclipse everyone sees the same thing (well almost due to parallax), since it isn't the Earth being eclipsed, but the moon. During a solar eclipse the Earth is being eclipsed, and so we see it differently depending on where we a

Re:Many eclipsi

[Hillman]

Do you really think so? You don't brag about "meeting a girl" unless you're a virgin or really polite....

Re:Many eclipsi

[AGMW]

You don't brag about "meeting a girl" unless you're a virgin or really polite

Now, if he'd said meating ...

Guiding Star III

[Tablizer]

A conjunction very much like the one occurring on the 5th occurred in August of the year 3 B.C. ... That year Venus and Jupiter were only 10 arc-minutes or 0.16 degrees apart...With such a narrow separation, light reflected from the two would seem to merge into one as seen with the unaided eye. Some scholars have speculated that this close conjunction may have been interpreted as a sign by ... the wise men

Oh great, another religious figure will be born and there will be even more religions fighting with each other over land and The-One-True-Religion bragging rights.

At this pace, one of these days a cult will form around comets and they will kill themselves to send their souls to a comet......oh wait.

Re:Guiding Star III

[Raffaello]

For example, India is very glad that Bush was reelected [atimes.com] because now outsourcing of your job to India can continue unimpeded.

Don't people have any sense at all. If India favors one candidate, it means that that candidate's policies are more favorable to Indian workers than they are to US workers.

The red states need to acquire a clue.

Hmm

[Dachannien]

Sounds like those Skeksis had better hurry up and make peace with the Gelflings.

Re:Hmm

[MouseR]

You beat me to the shard.

Re:Hmm

[Overzeetop]

Is it just coicidence that she looks a bit like Oprah?

Conjunction junction, what's your function?

[fname]

In case anyone doesn't know what a conjunction is, I found a good reference [postdiluvian.org].

Apparently they're for hooking up words and phrases and clauses.

Re:Conjunction junction, what's your function?

[magarity]

Yours is funny but on a serious note, I'm reasonably certain that planetary conjunctions are when they lined up in a row straight out from the sun. This seems to be a case of Venus *eclipsing* Jupiter, not conjuncting.

Been there, done that, still alright.

[pilsner.urquell]

I thought they where a bit close when I saw them tonight but at 51 I really don't pay attention as much as I used to. After seeing 2 total solar eclipse, a couple of good look at 2 comets, one unscheduled, a major alignment of the planets in the whole solar system and those are just the very memorable events the conjunction Venus and Jupiter is cool but only in so much that this one is so rare.

Good site, lets /. this one too

[tuxter]

http://www.iac.es/galeria/mrk/JupVen2.html

Re:arafat and bush

[Forthan Red]

Planetary conjunctions were outlawed in 10 states on Tuesday. You'd better hope they don't find out about this. 'Course, those people aren't real big on "all that scientific stuff", so maybe they won't notice.

Re:arafat and bush

[sweetleaf]

They're only outlawed if they involve Uranus.

Re:arafat and bush

[DLR]

Yasser Arafat is not dead, yet. [miami.com]

What about the election?

[chuckfucter]

I've been watching Venus and Jupiter creep closer together in the morning sky for the last few weeks, Now we know what all the potential Kerry voters did wrong....

Asstrology

[smokin_juan]

So what does all this mean? Did Nostradamus line this event up with the end of the world? Will the gravity combine and suck the earth into outerspace? Is this going to attract planet X cause if it doesn't it's is a non-event. Sure I could go out and see it with my naked eye but then what sort of hethen would let their naked eye's out in public in this fine xtian society of ours?

Re:Asstrology

[madprof]

I think a 3-headed goat will be born to farmer in Wisconsin.

Anti-astrological note

[panurge]

All this conjunction stuff is so much horse manure. Venus is INSIDE the earth's orbit and Jupiter is OUTSIDE it. They are both a very long way apart.

Yes, I know this is obvious to anyone with an education, but I'd like a little more precision in statements about planets. Jupiter and Venus cannot be at their closest when their positions seen from Earth coincide because at this point they cannot be in a direct line with the Sun - think about it. Their apparent positions in the sky may be closest, but at the point at which they are actually closest they must be visually separated from the point of view of Earth.

And for some of these posters who are wilfully misunderstanding the whole thing, the best place to see Venus and Jupiter (reasonably) close together is the Uffizi, in Firenze (Florence) Italy. There is a story that at one time the Uffizi used to show only one large Botticelli at a time so as not tog et the visitors over-excited.

Re:Anti-astrological note

[Anonymous Coward]

conjunction:
(3) noun; an alignment of three or more astronomical bodies

This is a conjunction of Earth, Venus, and Jupiter. Not all lines coincide with the Sun. I agree with your statement, "this is obvious to anyone with an education", but I must add the caveat of having the capability to apply it.

Nostradamus got it right!

[skimitar]

From Century XI.3:

Quand ardent Jupiter avec son regard fixe de perforation transpercera Venus juste carrément en son échine.
Alors l'un triomphe singe-fait face au-dessus de son ennemi.
Et les auteurs au Forum déploreront. Et fureur contre RIAA et SCO (comme d'habitude).

When fiery Jupiter with his piercing gaze
Shall spear fair Venus squarely in her loins
Then shall the monkey-faced one triumph over his foe
And the writers to the Forum shall lament
And rail against RIAA and SCO

Re:Nostradamus got it right!

[DLR]

ROFL!!!!

The sad thing is that some people are going to believe that's real.

Re:Nostradamus got it right!

[Anonymous Coward]

I didn't know Nostradamus were using BabelFish to get his predictions translated from some outer language to French. Explains why it's so obscure though.

This does not bode well

[PsiPsiStar]

Hera will be most displeased

Re:This does not bode well

[mubar]

Indeed she will. Note though that since we're talking about Venus and Jupiter, not Afrodite and Zeus, we should also use Hera's Latin name Juno.

THE GREAT CONJUNCTION COMES!

[DurendalMac]

Now we will live forever! We will live forever! We will live forever!

Re:THE GREAT CONJUNCTION COMES!

[The Queen]

No, Jen, heal the crystal!

(Sheesh, how many seperate threads are there for this joke?)

Dark Crystal

[vistic]

Ahhh! Augra told me about this...

Now the Skeksis and the Mystics can reunite at last, and the crystal be healed!

Re:Dark Crystal

[DurendalMac]

Just a little late on that one, pal. ;)

Re:Dark Crystal

[DarkKnightRadick]

What's funny is that I just watched the Dark Crystal 3 days ago on a DVD I bought from Wal-Mart for $10.

This news item is a day too late.

[ralphclark]

The closest conjuction was before dawn this morning.

Re:This news item is a day too late.

[flibberdi]

YES, it was and I saw it. Beutiful. It sure was spectacular with these BRIGHT planets working together to catch attention.

Today?

[Mr. Neutron]

Accroding to the chart, this happened back on May 5 (5/11/04). I don't get it!

Re:Today?

[drewness]

To Europeans, 5/11/04 is November 5th 2004. It's like a little-endian date. DD/MM/YY.
The Japanese like big-endian dates YY/MM/DD, so today would be 04/11/05.
If anything, the American way of doing dates is weird.

I saw it

[peter303]

I haven't been getting up as early since Daylight Savings Time ended, but I saw the conjunction this morning. Pretty spectacular.

Astrology

[PeanutGallery]

Time to return to my pagan roots.

Something notable happened in the heavens, therefore time for drunken hedonism followed by human sacrifice...

Or, at least a nice pizza sacrifice.

Just saw it

[Tri0de]

Went out running this morning (4:30am PST, 13:30 GMT).
Wow....

Re:And...

[tuxter]

Nothing like outing yourself to a few million geeks.... I suppose, if you can't get a girlfriend........

Re:Great

[Tablizer]

Now i have that conjunction junction tune stuck in my head

I'll fix that:

"Lolly Lolly Lolly
I've come to troll your ass,
If you urge to mod me down, then oh please pass"