FreeLists / az-observing / [AZ-Observing] Re: Venus and Jupiter in morning sky

[Joe Orman <joe.orman@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

You may be remembering seeing Venus and Jupiter on the evening of February 23, 
1999, when they were only a half-degree apart, or the evening of June 3, 2002, 
when they were about a degree and a half apart.  On the average, Venus and 
Jupiter pass within 2 degrees of each other about once a year.  But some of 
these conjunctions are too close to the sun to be visible.  The next visible 
ones will be on the evening of August 31, 2005, when they'll be about a degree 
and a half apart, and the morning of Feb 1, 2008, when they'll be a half-degree 
apart.
 
I assume "Jupiter and Saturn" was a typo.  Those planets pass each other only 
every 20 years.  The last time was in May 2000, the next will be in December 
2020.
 
--Joe Orman

Andrew Cooper <acooper@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: 

 Both planets 
were easily visible with a 35mm eyepiece, but that gives three degree 
field in the RFT. Stepping up to a 12mm eyepiece both planets just fit 
in the field at either side but as disks now, a gibbous Venus and at the 
other side of the field Jupiter and retinue. 


This is the second time I have seem Jupiter and Saturn in the eyepiece 
at the same time. The last was a few years back in the evening sky. 
That time we were set up in a schoolyard and shared the unique view with 
the students at a school wide star party. I wonder how often these 
events occur?

Andrew









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