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Oct.
28, 2008: Stop! Take your finger off that doorbell.
Something spooky is happening behind your back. Turn around,
tip back your mask, and behold the sunset.
It's
a Halloween sky show.
On
Oct. 31st, the crescent Moon will sneak up
on Venus for a close encounter of startling beauty. The gathering
is best seen just after sunset when the twilight is pumpkin-orange
and Halloween doorbells are chiming in earnest. Venus hovers
just above the southwestern horizon, the brightest light in
the sky, while the exquisitely slender Moon approaches just
a few degrees below: sky
map.
Above:
Venus and the crescent Moon photographed in July 2007 by Dan
Bush of Albany, Missouri. The scene will be much the same
on Halloween 2008. [Larger
image]
Okay,
stop staring. There's candy to be gathered.
One
night later, you can give the sequel your undivided attention.
On Nov. 1st, Venus and the Moon emerge from
the twilight side-by-side, Venus on the right, the Moon on
the left: sky
map. Look carefully at the Moon. Can you see a ghostly
image of the full Moon inside the bright horns of the crescent?
That’s called "Earthshine" or sometimes "the
da Vinci glow" because Leonardo da Vinci was the first
person to explain it: Sunlight hits Earth and ricochets to
the Moon, casting a sheen of light across the dark lunar terrain.
A crescent Moon with Earthshine is one of the loveliest sights
in the heavens.
The
show continues on Nov. 2nd with Venus, the
still-slender crescent Moon, and Jupiter arrayed in a broad
line across the southwestern sky: sky
map. This linear arrangement attracts attention almost as
much as the luminosity of its points: Venus, the Moon and Jupiter
are the brightest objects in the heavens, visible from light-polluted
cities even before the twilight sky fades to black.
Trace your finger upward along the line—that is where the Moon
is going. Nightfall on Nov. 3rd reveals the
Moon transported to Jupiter: sky
map. The two form a pair so tight and eye-catching, it may
take your breath away.
As hard as it may
be to believe, these nights of dark beauty are just a hint
of things to come. The real show begins one month after Halloween
when Venus, the Moon, and Jupiter converge on a tiny patch
of sky no bigger than the end of your thumb held at arm's
length: sky
map. Dec. 1st is the best night to look,
even better than Halloween.
Now
that's scary.
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Author: Dr.
Tony Phillips | Credit: Science@NASA
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