Scheduled air date: 1999 Feb 22-28
Jupiter and Venus cross paths on the evening of February 23rd, appearing about 1/4 degree
apart, while Mercury approaches its greatest Eastern elongation, making it easier to find
for the next week or two.
(Shown for mid-Northern latitudes about thirty minutes after Sunset. Jupiter and
Venus will be only about 1/8 degree apart at their closest, but this occurs during the
afternoon daylight for North American viewers — difficult, though not impossible to
see.)
On the evening of March 1st, Jupiter will appear about halfway between Venus and
Mercury...
...and on the evenings of the 5th and 6th, Jupiter and Mercury will appear about 4 degrees
apart before separating once again.
(The inset represents a telescopic view of Mercury presenting a gibbous phase, much like
our Moon appears near First Quarter.)
If you wish to view illustrations for other episodes, please see our Star Gazer Illustrated directory.
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Illustrations on this page were created using
TheSky Astronomy
Software, an advanced desktop planetarium program designed for Windows. Copyright © 1999-2006 by Software Bisque, Inc. |