Crescent Moon comes between Venus and Jupiter

Crescent Moon comes between Venus and Jupiter

Sunday 25 2012

Monday 26 2012

The skies cleared up completely to show a remarkable arrangement of two planets and the crescent Moon were seen on Monday March 26 evening in the western skies. The three formed an almost perfect straight line that produced an exciting and unique arrangement.

In the pictures, an extremely brilliant Venus is carried in the cusp of the crescent Moon. Jupiter shining slightly less lies below and to the left of the Moon along a straight line.

This type of arrangement is a rare event since the planets and the Moon each move at their own speeds and distances. Another close up of this type is not expected to occur until June 20, 2015 when the three will be even closer together.

The planets and the Moon are extremely far from each other. The Moon is at a distance of about 400,000 kilometers from us, while Venus is currently about 110 million kilometers from us, and Jupiter is at a distance of about 879 million kilometers. It is as if you are seeing them close in the sky along our line of sight, but actually they are arranged one behind the other.