One of the most interesting events coming in 2015's summer will be the conjunction of Venus and Jupiter. These two bright planets can already be seen clearly in the west just after sunset. Venus is brighter and lower than Jupiter, and they get closer every day!
These planets are the brightest objects in the sky except for the sun and the moon. A conjunction between them is not rare, but such a close encounter does not happen very often. Here are links to photos from the 2012 conjunction 2012 and from the 2008 conjunction.
New photos!
New photos from the event itself 30/06/2015
I started in daylight and here are the two. Jupiter is a small orange ball and Venus shape is visible. The camera was Canon HS SX50.
Daylight Venus and Jupiter 30/06/2015
The next two photos showing Venus and Jupiter through a telescope. It was amazing to see them both in the same field of view. Jupiter with its strips and moons and the thin crescent of Venus. In the photograph however, I had to choose the exposure. A long exposure to get Jupiter's moons and a short exposure to get the shape of the crescent. So I took two
Venus and Jupiter through a telescope 30/06/2015
Venus and Jupiter through a telescope 30/06/2015
OK, Saturn is always beautiful so why not take a photo of him as well?
Saturn
I invited friends to see the wonders of the sky. Many arrived to see the conjunction, Saturn, and the almost full moon. What a splendid evening!!!
These photos are from June 29 2015! Enjoy and scroll down to see the difference of just one day!
Venus and Jupiter 29/6/2015
You can clearly see Jupiter's moons in this photo!
Venus and Jupiter 29/6/2015
Venus and Jupiter 29/6/2015
Venus and Jupiter 29/6/2015
Venus and Jupiter 29/6/2015
Venus and Jupiter 29/6/2015
And notice the difference in just one day
Jupiter and Venus 28/6/2015
Jupiter and Venus 28/6/2015
Jupiter and Venus are the brightest planets, and way back in the past, on June 17th, 2 BC, their conjunction made them so close together, just 40 arc-seconds apart, that they seemed as a single, very bright star, which might be the origin of the "Star of Bethlehem" (although there are other astronomical theories for this star, such as a Supernova, a comet or other conjunctions). Look at the Illustration below. An observer looking through his telescope at a 100x magnification, would have seen this incredible sight. Venus is closer to Jupiter than Jupiter's moons and is just a little bit smaller than Jupiter. Jupiter's angular size is 32" and Venus's is only 25". This is indeed a sight not often seen! An even more spectacular conjunction will be on 22-Nov-2065, when Venus will actually go in front of Jupiter, obscuring a little part of it. Unfortunately, Jupiter and Venus will be only 7 degrees from the Sun so the chances to see it are near to zero. The next occultation will be in 2123, a bit too far in the future for most of us.
Venus and Jupiter conjunction 2 BC illustration
The current conjunction will not be as close as that of 2BC and the planets will be seen as two, but very close to each other. The first event to notice is on 13/6 when Venus will pass near the Beehive cluster (M44). Even a small binoculars will suffice to see it. The next interesting event will be on 20/6/2015 when the new moon will join the pair to create a triple conjunction.
The moon, Venus and Jupiter 20-Jun-2015
The moon, Venus and Jupiter 20-Jun-2015
And a short (17sec) time lapse of 18 minutes
Here is my own photo of Venus and M44 taken from a really light polluted area and yet, the cluster is visible
Venus and M44
Look at the illustration below. The little cloud below Venus is M44 and it also demonstrates how fast Venus moves.
Venus,Jupiter, the moon and M44 20/6/2015 Illustration
The nearest conjunction will be 10 days later on 30/6 with a distance of a third of a degree (22 arc-minutes). This is less than the diameter of the moon. If you have a telescope, you can use a magnification in which you can still see the entire moon and include both planets in the same field of view. If you don't have a telescope don't worry! Many people will photograph the pair and beautiful pictures are expected.
One day later (July 1st, 2015) the distance will be greater, but still less than half a degree. The distance will increase with every passing day as the pair will continue to move, each in its own celestial orbit.
Updated photos 18-Jun-2015!
New moon Venus and Jupiter 18/6/2015
New moon Venus and Jupiter 18/6/2015
Venus Jupiter and Leo constellation
Venus Jupiter and Leo constellation
Here are two photos taken three weeks apart which show how the distance is getting smaller.
Jupiter Venus and the moon 21/5/2015
Jupiter Venus and the moon 9/6/2015
The following song was a big hit in Israel and you will enjoy it even without understanding the words. Its name is "Milky way Ballad " and here is my freestyle translation for it.
Hello everybody and welcome to the #411 edition of "Carnival of Space". Many things happen in space all the time and here are some of the best astronomy and space articles from around the globe!
Joe from SpaceFlightInsider goes way beyond the solar system: Using a new technique on Kepler data, astronomers are able to determine the mass and density of exo-planets smaller in size than the Earth. The
method uses Other planets in the system to look at changes in the
planet's motion as it passes in front of its parent star.
The following articles are by Brian from NextBigFuture
Beyond Earth, Jupiter’s moon Europa is considered one of the most
promising places in the solar system to search for signs of present-day
life, and a new NASA mission to explore this potential is moving forward
from concept review to development.
NASA’s mission concept -- to conduct a detailed survey of Europa and investigate its habitability -- has successfully completed its first major review by the agency and now is entering the development phase known as formulation.
The mission plan calls for a spacecraft to be launched to Jupiter in the 2020s, arriving in the distant planet’s orbit after a journey of several years.
And also on Exoplanets
A team of astronomers has measured the mass and size of the smallest exoplanet yet, a Mars-sized planet named Kepler-138b orbiting a red
dwarf star about 200 light years from our solar system. Kepler-138b is
the first exoplanet smaller than the Earth to have both its mass and its
size measured. Kepler-138b is one of three planets that orbit the star
Kepler-138 and that pass in front of it -- or transit -- on every orbit.
Each time a planet transits the star, it blocks a small fraction of the
star's light, allowing astronomers to measure the size of the planet.
All three Kepler planets were identified by NASA's Kepler mission, which
has discovered over a thousand planets around other stars. This video
shows a mass-radius diagram based on measurements of 127 exoplanets. The
video begins by showing a range of planets with masses up to that of
Jupiter's, then gradually zooms toward the smaller masses and radii to
display a comparison of the physical properties of the Kepler-138
planets relative to Earth, Venus, Mars and Mercury. Fifteen years ago the first exoplanet that was found was 3000 times larger than Kepler 138b. [Via Centauri Dreams]
Adam Savage shares the story of his Star Trek Captain's Chair, which he
became obsessed with building from scratch after acquiring an
insufficient replica. With the help of friend Jeremy Williams, Adam
spends a day wiring in the electronics to bring his new Enterprise
command chair to life. After much problem solving and troubleshooting,
the effort pays off in a big way.
And of course, go out in the evening and look west to see Venus and Jupiter together. I've added many new photos to the article from last week
The new moon Venus and Jupiter 18-June-2015
And a video of the moon Vens and jupiter setting
This is all for this week, Thanks for being with us
The Israeli Ministry of of Defense (MOD) announced that an experimental rocket was launched from Israel this morning. The exact purpose of the experiment are unknown but it seems to be similar to the defensive system "Iron Dome" which is able to intercept hostile rockets.
Israel was and still is under a major threat of rockets from Gaza strip, Lebanon and Iran and is known for its sophisticated defense systems which saved the life of many.
I saw it on my way to work, at first I notice someone who stopped at the side and photograph the skies so out of interest I stooped as well (On a safe place!) and looked myself. Which I saw it few seconds earlier.
ניסוי טילים
Personally I am hoping for a peaceful future with many civilian launches from Israel that we will know about in advance and can watch them safely just as NASA notify each launch.
Israel is an amazing place for birds watching. Its unique location between Europe, Asia and Africa makes it the perfect place to the professional Ornithologist and amateur birdwatcher. The Rishon-Lezion Agamon (Israel) is an artificial lake at the southwest of the city in the edge of a very large urban area.
The entire area is being develop currently and some of the areas around the lake are closed to visitor. I've visited the lake for a short time and got a very nice photos of many species of birds. The place deserves additional and longer visits
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)
And another type of Kingfisher - Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle rudis). It is a pleasure to watch hem hoovering in one spot, waving their wings very fast and then dive rapidly to the water.
Pied Kingfisher
Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle rudis)
Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle rudis)
Little egret (Egretta garzetta) are very common birds and this one manage to catch a fish but for some reason was unable to swallow it. The fish doesn't seems to be too big so I've no idea what was the reason. You can watch her attempt in the video (It is recommended to view on YouTube site in HD resolution)
Little egret (Egretta garzetta)
A very cute family of Egyptian geese (Alopochen aegyptiaca). A mother with three ducklings. The mother is missing her paw and jumps on one foot a very strange and a bit sad to watch, but still she takes care for the ducklings. (Watch the jumps from 0:40 in the video)
Egyptian geese (Alopochen aegyptiaca)
Egyptian geese (Alopochen aegyptiaca)
The Spur-winged lapwing (Vanellus spinosus) is also very common in Israel. Its name in Hebrew is SIKSAK which is of course resembles the voices it makes. Behind it you will notice a Common sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos)
Spur-winged lapwing (Vanellus spinosus)
And a little further away Eurasian coot (Fulica atra).
Eurasian coot (Fulica atra)
Eurasian coot (Fulica atra)
Eurasian coot (Fulica atra)
There is a small airfield nearby so there were some bigger birds like this one...
