2023-11-08 18:35:04
Par Martin Leduc
Published on 8 Nov 23 at 7:35 p.m. updated on 8 Nov 23 at 9:48 p.m. See my news Follow News
The beauty of the universe is that it regularly offers us spectacles for the eyes. And free, what’s more. This Thursday, November 9, 2023, a new astronomical phenomenon will be at its peak: the conjunction of the Moon and Venus.
In amateur parlance, that means the two will be side by side for a little while. Or at least it will seem so. We talk regarding conjunction.
The orbit game
This visual proximity is due to the play of the orbits. By definition, the planets as well as all the astral bodies of the solar system all revolve around the Sun. But thanks to their proximity to the latter, some go faster than others.
Venus, located some 108 million kilometers from the Sun, takes 224.7 days to go around it while the Earth, as well as its Moon, located approximately 150 million kilometers away, needs 365 days.
Which means that at times, certain stars seem to be side by side in the sky. Last March, Venus and Jupiter seemed to almost touch each other, even though the two planets are separated, albeit by a few million kilometers.
This time, it is once more Venus who is concerned. It will not appear to be stuck to a planet, but to the Moon.
A kind of optical illusion
It works like the constellations. Questioned on this subject for a previous article, Jean-Pierre Martin, nuclear physicist by trade, president of the cosmology commission of the Astronomical Society of France explained to actu.fr that the constellations of Leo, Taurus, or Saucepan are only “optical illusions”
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The constellation Ursa Major, for example, also called Casserole, or Chariot, is made up of several stars. Dubhé (Alpha Ursae Majoris) and Alioth (Epsilon Ursae Majoris) are among them. The first is regarding 123 light years from Earth while the second is regarding 82.52 light years.
“A long time ago, we said to ourselves: “Hey, these stars, together, they have the shape of a saucepan. And these, they look like a bull, and that’s it,” he sums up.
How to properly observe the phenomenon?
The fact remains that seeing a conjunction is a pretty sight.
For that of November 2023 between the Moon and Venus, we will have to rely on luck initially. The weather does not seem to be on our side from this point of view. But you never know!
Then, you will have to look towards the constellation Virgo, to the east, northeast. “Venus rises a few hours before the sun, so it is this Thursday, November 9, in the early morning, that the phenomenon will be most significant,” notes Gilles Dawidowicz, vice-president of the Astronomical Society of France.
The best time is therefore between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m.
In short, we must look for the moon. HAS the west from it, we will be able to see Venus, the brightest point in the sky (following the Moon and the Sun, of course).
“Watching the show through a telescope can be a good idea: “You can take beautiful photos with the smartphone stuck to the telescope eyepiece. It’s system D, but it works,” he notes.
Note that as the Sun will not be far from rising, you will have to be careful not to damage your eyes.
Venus will be completely obscured around 11 a.m.
If the conjunction of two stars is not particularly rare (on November 13, the Moon will be close to Mars, on the 14th, to Mercury), that of this Thursday, November 9, 2023 is accompanied by an event which is less frequent observed: from 10:53 a.m. and until 11:57 a.m., Venus will be completely hidden by the Moon.
We are talking here regarding an occultation. “It’s nice to watch. Through the telescope, we will be able to see the two crescents before Venus disappears behind the Moon.”
Be careful, the Sun will be well up at this time, and will reduce the chances of seeing the show. “But it’s possible to see. It will take a beautiful blue sky, and look towards the southwest,” hopes the vice-president.
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