Jupiter, Mercury and Venus dance on Memorial Day - Northern Voices Online

Jupiter, Mercury and Venus dance on Memorial Day and celebrate the occasion. It is one love triangle that no one would be hurt off or ever object to. In a rare event that would not take place for an entire decade, a trio of Jupiter, Mercury and Venus are closing in to form a triangle that would be visible between May 25-27. The formation that would be visible to the naked eye for the earthlings, after presenting this rare kind of cosmic show would start towards the original position after May 27. The scientists have calculated that the event which took place earlier in May 2011 would not be taking place before January 2021. It has been more than a week since the three planets started closing in to form a triangle in the western sky.  While being the closest the trio will appear within a 3-degree field of the night sky thus easily fitting into the field of view of regular binoculars. However, the best time to gaze at the magnificent creation is 30-60 minutes following the sunset. What makes the event even more special is the fact the formation includes the three brightest planets visible in the night with Venus leading the pack followed by Jupiter and Mercury. It is pertinent to mention here that while Mercury is 105 million miles from Earth, Venus is more than 150 million miles away, and Jupiter is almost 565 million miles away. Speaking about the celestial event, astronomer Tony Phillips explained in a NASA observing guide: "'Triple conjunctions of planets are fairly rare. The last time it happened was in May 2011 and it won't happen again until 2021. The planet trio will still be visible on Memorial Day Monday (May 27) as their triangle pattern begins to separate. On Tuesday (May 27), Venus and Jupiter will appear extremely close together, separated by just 1 degree, in what could be a "truly spectacular pair." Commenting upon the planetary formation, Ben Burress, staff astronomer at the Chabot Space and Science Centre in Oakland, California, said: "When we see a single planet out by itself on a given night, we might not pay much attention to its status as a planet, as it appears mostly like a bright star. But when they are discovered together like this, in a close-knit configuration we know we haven't seen lately—if ever—our minds acknowledge the fact that they move, and in this case, have moved together. It reminds us that the sky isn't static and unchanging, but is alive with motion and has a dynamic personality. 'It's visually exciting to see this clustering; Jupiter and Venus especially are brighter than the brightest stars, and seeing just those two so close to each other is remarkable." Meanwhile, following the event Venus will continue to shine brightly as the "Evening Star" for the rest of the year even as Jupiter falls back and Mercury soars, climbing higher and higher above Venus.  It is being expected that Mercury will  peak on June 7, following which it will start sinking back toward the horizon, fading all the while. Also, given the fact that  Mercury is the solar system's innermost planet and given its proximity to the sun, Mercury is rarely in view for more than an hour after sunset or an hour before dawn. Though the tiny planet can be tough to see, but it's current pairing with the celestial landmarks should help the sky gazers to a large extent. Shortlink: Posted by admin on May 27, 2013. Filed under Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed. via Science - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNEpLo5FjrkNiEV1cg-gltKMH1jeXg&url=http://nvonews.com/2013/05/27/jupiter-mercury-and-venus-dance-on-memorial-day/

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