More astronomy

This isn't the most exciting photo I've ever taken but last night was the first sight of Venus this winter. I knew it was going to be an evening star and had been looking out for it after getting home from work. The other dot is Jupiter. I realised that they would get closer together as Jupiter moves nearer to the Sun and so I thought I'd get my Starry Night software out to see when they get close.

Back in February this year these three were close just before sunrise and I set up my then new camera to try and get photos. Unfortunately on that morning it was cloudy. Starry Night said that Jupiter and Venus will get close on December 1st, but even better is that a 3 day old crescent Moon will also be there in the evening. In fact the Moon will occult Venus, that is Venus will disappear behind the Moon. It's rare for a bright star to be occulted, never mind a planet and something I've never seen.

According my Starry Night Venus disappears at around 3:47 PM - just after sunset. It reappears at about 5:14 PM - about the time I usually get home from work. You can't miss Venus - it's the very bright object in the southwest. I hope to have some good photos in December.