Weather iffy for tonight's sky spectacular
I can see a few rays of sunshine warming the rock walls of the State Penitentiary this morning. And that suggests the clouds may clear enough late this afternoon to give Marylanders a peek at tonight's sky spectacular. Here's the official forecast - for "mostly cloudy" skies.
The event is a striking triple conjunction of the planets Venus and Jupiter, with the crescent moon. They will form a beautiful triangle after sunset, hanging just above the southwest horizon. All three will be plenty bright enough to spot from anywhere skies are clear (or more-or-less clear toward the southwest), even in light-polluted urban settings.
Photographers have already been busy snapping pictures of the two planets, with the moon approaching from the lower right. That's Heather McLaughlin's shot above, taken from Foster City, Calif. (Used with permission.) Here is a gallery from SpaceWeather.com
By tonight, the moon will have moved just to the left of Venus and Jupiter.
If you're reading this in Europe, you will have an even more astonishing show to watch if your skies aren't clouded up. From your perspective, the moon will move in front of Venus in what astronomers call a "lunar occultation."
UPDATE: The clouds cleared, and we had a good look at this conjunction, around 6 p.m., from the roof of the Sun garage, looking southwest toward the Basilica. I tried a snapshot with my point-and-shoot (below). It's more than a little blurry, but you get the idea. I expect others will have better images online by morning.
Comments
Dang,
I suppose by tomorrow this will have passed as it's raining lightly here in Baltimore at 4PM ..
FR: The rain looks like a passing shower. We may still get lucky. But, if we're clouded out tonight, tomorrow's weather forecast is a bit more promising. And all three players will still be visible, and quite beautiful. The moon, however, will have moved farther off toward the east, and the two planets will be a bit farther apart. Well worth a long look, but the closest apparition of the trio is definitely tonight.
Posted by: RavensFlock | December 1, 2008 3:51 PM
I've been noticing them as I walk the dog in the evenings.
We just had a brief hailstorm here in North Baltimore (by Good Sam hospital).
Posted by: Fairfax | December 1, 2008 4:34 PM
Seems to be clearing off nicely, now. If you are able to witness the conjunction this evening, be sure to stop back here and leave a comment. Share the experience.
Posted by: Frank Roylance | December 1, 2008 4:37 PM
It just cleared at 5 pm downtown.
Posted by: Rich Stein | December 1, 2008 5:23 PM
I just drove my daughter to choir rehearsal, and we watched the sky show playing peek-a-boo with the clouds. It's mostly clear, and just enough clouds to make it more interesting. Pretty, though!
Posted by: Corine Schramke | December 1, 2008 6:18 PM
I watched the conjunction for thirty minutes during my drive home tonight in Howard County. Thanks for identifying it for your readers.
Posted by: Ken Potocki | December 2, 2008 12:07 AM
On Nov. 29, we were driving home in the East Coast traffic madness and had just escaped the NJ Turnpike when the sky darkened and revealed a beautiful sight. For a while, we were able to forget the hundreds of glowing brake lights, the lane-switchers and the berm drivers.
Posted by: Dave Cohn | December 2, 2008 8:57 AM
As I was leaving work, I looked towards the southwest and was able to see the conjunction before the light cloud cover obscured it. I could see it again when I got back downtown. It was really lovely!
Posted by: Fairfax | December 2, 2008 11:11 AM