Tianjin, 8 Dec (Xinhua) -- Whenever the bright Venus and the thin and narrow moon "meet," they can always add a touch of color to the sky. According to astronomical science experts, the last Venus conjunction of the moon this year will be staged on December 10, and interested members of the public can watch it in the early morning of the same day.
Zhou Bo, a Beijing starry sky photography enthusiast, photographed Venus with the Moon in Huairou, Beijing, on May 27, 2022. (Photo courtesy of me).
Normally, the Moon and Venus are ranked in the night sky.
The first and second brightest celestial bodies, therefore, the Venus conjunction is the most favored among all the planetary conjunctions.
This is because Venus is the second closest planet to the Sun among the eight planets, and it always appears near the Sun, which means that the Moon will only be accompanied by it in the early morning or evening, and the moon phase is either the Momei Moon at the beginning of the lunar month or the waning Moon at the end of the lunar month. Xiu Lipeng, a member of the Chinese Astronomical Society and an expert in astronomical science popularization, said.
Chongqing starry sky enthusiast Zhou Yang Song Dan photographed Venus with the moon in Lenghu, Qinghai on August 12, 2021. (Courtesy of Starlink CSVA).
During the year, Venus will last for several months in the "Enlightenment" and "Chang Gung" positions, but whether it appears as the "morning star" or the "evening star", Venus is very bright, always at a brightness of -39 to -49 and so on. In December, Venus still plays the role of "enlightenment", and it can be seen in the sky near south-east before sunrise, shining like a bright light, with a brightness of -42 to -40 and so on.
Xiu Lipeng said that at 0:53 on the 10th, Venus conjunct the moon, at this time they are all below the horizon and are not visible. At around 5 a.m., the two bright celestial bodies rise above the horizon and become a pair of "conspicuous bags" on the horizon, with Venus not far from the upper left corner of the waning moon. Because of the company of Venus, in the vast eastern sky, the moon does not seem so lonely and lonely.
Beijing starry sky photography enthusiast Wang Junfeng photographed Venus with the moon in Fengtai Garden, Beijing, June 21, 2023. (Photo courtesy of me).
Venus conjunction or conjunction Moon is a celestial phenomenon that is very suitable for the general public, and although it is not a rare celestial phenomenon, it is a celestial phenomenon that is always worth looking forward to. It is worth mentioning that when the interested public enjoys this "romance of the stars and the moon", they can also see the astronomical phenomenon of "the new moon hugging the old moon".
The conjunction of Venus and the Moon taken by Wu Luping, a starry sky photography enthusiast in Beijing, on December 13, 2020. (Photo courtesy of me).
The crescent moon and the old moon refer to the moon composed of the dark side of the moon illuminated by the earth's reflection of sunlight and the bright crescent moon illuminated by the direct sunlight. The sunlight reflected by the earth is also called 'gray light', which is only easy to see when the crescent moon is very thin, and the moon becomes 'fatter' and can hardly be seen. Xiu Lipeng said.
*:Xinhua.