On Wednesday evening, skywatchers throughout the world were rewarded to a clear picture of the crescent Moon, Jupiter, and Venus, with all three celestial planets observed in alignment. In the night sky, the three planets formed a beautiful trifecta. This unusual occurrence was such a pleasure for many that they couldn’t help but catch it on their cell phones and post it online.
Andrew McCarthy, an astrophotographer, tweeted a time-lapse of the heavenly objects moving in rhythm as clouds elegantly framed them as they set in on Twitter. Mr. McCarthy even posted a photo of the unusual occurrence and stated, “Tonight’s Conjunction of the Moon, Jupiter and Venus (In that order, left to right). The clouds finally gave way just in time to get this shot. Our sky is absolutely beautiful.”
Viral Post:
Tonight's Conjunction of the Moon, Jupiter and Venus (In that order, left to right). The clouds finally gave way just in time to get this shot. Our sky is absolutely beautiful. pic.twitter.com/hgy0dsYyuc
— Andrew McCarthy (@AJamesMcCarthy) February 23, 2023
The post has received more than 401K views, several likes and reactions.
People Reactions:
I was able to take this one…not even close to good…😕 pic.twitter.com/Yjvwqobrcb
— Subham Dey | শুভম দে (@Dreamersubham) February 23, 2023
Cool shot Andrew. I decided to take some time-lapse to see the moon drifting up and away from Jupiter. We rarely perceive the orbital motion, but when it is close to a planet, you can see the difference a couple hours makes. pic.twitter.com/qOCXqGQPKI
— Mr. Nimocks (@Nimocks) February 23, 2023
I was counting on you. My picture isn’t exactly great… pic.twitter.com/Lh3EJKHmx9
— Ted Madden (@tedmadden) February 23, 2023
https://twitter.com/Liaxox/status/1628584781901615104?s=20
Why does the crescent 🌙 appear at the very bottom of the moon (at least, here in Tampa it does)?
— ChristianSerino (@christianserino) February 23, 2023
Mine is rotated for aesthetic, the crescent points down for you because that's the direction of the sun.
— Andrew McCarthy (@AJamesMcCarthy) February 23, 2023
I was coming back from work when I saw this and my jaw dropped. The moon was drop-dead gorgeous and with its companions Venus and Jupiter, it truly was a fascinating sight. My phone's camera does not do it justice, but here we are 🙂 pic.twitter.com/tYGe6BSanc
— Pallavi Mukherjee (she/her) (@pllv2009) February 23, 2023
Meanwhile, two of the solar system’s brightest planets, Jupiter and Venus, have been creeping closer in recent weeks as they prepare for their closest conjunction on March 1. According to Space.com, the planets will be 0.52 degrees apart on March 1. Jupiter will be visible at magnitude -2.1, while Venus will be seen at magnitude -4.0.
Skywatchers can view a sliver of a waxing crescent moon around one hour after sunset by looking low toward the west-southwest horizon.
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