AWB’s Venus-Jupiter Conjunction Image Collection
Enjoy the beautiful views of the Venus-Jupiter conjunction as seen from various parts of the globe through Astronomers Without Borders (AWB) image collection.
Last March 13-15, a lot of amateur astronomers participated in AWB’s event, “Beauty Without Borders: Conjunction of Glory” which highlighted the closest encounter of Jupiter and Venus — the two brightest planets in the night sky.
Images were submitted to AWB by uploading the them in Twitter and using the hashtag #VenusJupiter. Two of my images got included in this collection as well. Thank you, AWB!
Under the motto “One People, One Sky”, AWB brings people together from around the world through our common interest in astronomy .
True enough, “the boundaries we place between us vanish when we look skyward.” 🙂
Closest Encounter of Venus and Jupiter in 2012
If you’ve been looking west after sunset recently you can’t have failed to see Venus blazing there so bright, outshining everything else in the sky. To Venus’ upper left is another bright” star”, which is actually another planet, Jupiter.
Jupiter and Venus - 8 degrees apart. Image captured 5 March 2012 at 6:45 pm.
These two bright planets visible in the night sky have been putting on quite a show this past month as they have been slowly getting closer together in the western sky just after sunset.
Next week, Venus and Jupiter will be MUCH closer than they are now. 🙂
On March 15, an impressive celestial show at twilight will surprise sky observers as these two planets reach what astronomers call conjunction – the closest they can appear in the sky together.
Getting closer - 5 degrees apart. Image taken 9 March 2012 at 6:24 pm.
The pair of planets will appear to be only 3 degrees apart in the western sky. That is equal to the width of your three middle fingers at arms’ length. Their proximity in the sky is an illusion, of course, as Venus is 180 million km away from Earth and Jupiter is more than 600 million km farther away.
After their mid March close encounter, the two planets will quickly go pass each other – Jupiter dropping down towards the horizon, getting closer to the Sun, while Venus moves higher up in the sky, moving away from the Sun, and brightening as it does so.
The next Venus-Jupiter conjunction after this one falls on May 28, 2013.
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Beauty Without Borders: Conjunction of Glory
The Jupiter-Venus conjunction on March 15 will be quite a spectacle, as both planets are very bright. This will be a fantastic visual and photographic opportunity, as it’s not often that you get the brightest planets in our Solar System so close together.
In line with this, Astronomers Without Borders (AWB), in collaboration with Amateur Astronomers Association of Kurdistan & Opportunity Astronomical Observatory (Iraq), presents “Beauty without Borders: Conjunction of Glory”.
All the amateur/professional groups out there are invited to participate and enjoy the beautiful views.
http://www.facebook.com/events/307475112650751/
Join the conversation on Twitter @awb_org using #VenusJupiter with other groups around the world. Post your images on our Flickr or Facebook page.
Tour the Planets: Jupter and Venus Conjunction Live
http://www.astronomerswithoutborders.org/projects/observing-activities/beauty-without-borders/1049.html
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Here is a video from Newsy.com to help you know more about this event: http://www.newsy.com/videos/venus-and-jupiter-set-for-cosmic-meetup/
AWB March 2012 Events
Global Astronomy Month 2012 (www.gam-awb.org) is merely a month away. Astronomers Without Borders (AWB) has organized three exciting events in March to do the warm-ups!
Spread the word and join in.
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“Hello Red Planet”
3-5 March 2012
Mars will come into Opposition on March 3, 2012 in the constellation Leo with its face fully illuminated by the Sun and two days later, on March 5, 2012, the planet will have its closest approach to Earth during this apparition: 100.78 million km (0.6737 AU)—the best time to say “Hello” to the Red Planet.
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“Conjunction of Glory”
13 – 15 March 2012
Venus and Jupiter, the two brightest planets in the sky, will be within 3 degrees of each other in the evening sky of 15 March 2012 at 10:37:46 UTC. This will be quite a spectacle, as both planets are very bright—and this will be a fantastic visual and photographic opportunity, as it’s not often that you get the brightest planets in our Solar System so close together.
The next Venus-Jupiter conjunction after this one falls on May 28, 2013.
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“March Equinox 2012”
20 March 2012
The March equinox occurs at 05:14 UTC, Tuesday 20 March. The Sun will shine directly down on the Earth’s equator and there will be nearly equal amounts of day and night throughout the world. This is also the first day of spring (Vernal Equinox) in the northern hemisphere and the first day of fall (Autumnal Equinox) in the southern hemisphere.
Wherever you are on 20 March, 2012, celebrate your season in the cycle of life with Astronomers Without Borders. Enjoy your own unique Equinox this year—and why not tell others about the experience?
To the stars! 🙂
More about GAM 2012:
GAM 2011 Program Schedule
Wondering what projects are included in this year’s Global Astronomy Month? Check out this programs list. 🙂
Click on the links below for more information on each program.
| Date / Time | Program |
| March 24 to 4 April | Globe at Night – Northern Hemisphere |
| March 24 to 6 April | Globe at Night – Southern Hemisphere |
| 1 April | Online Messier Marathon: Observe all the Messier objects remotely |
| 1 to 8 April | International Dark Skies Week |
| 1 to 30 April | 30 Nights of StarPeace |
| 2 April | Around the Ringed Planet: Observe Saturn remotely |
| 2 to 3 April | Beatuy without Borders – Saturn Watch |
| 9 April | Global Star Party |
| 9 April | Stars for All: Observe deepsky objects remotely |
| 10 April | Opticks: A live audio-visual radio transmission performance between Earth & Moon |
| 10 and 11 April | NASA “Voyage into Deep Space” 2011 – Live Webcast with Sonification |
| 10 to 16 April | Lunar Week |
| 12 April | Walking on the Moon: Observe Moon remotely |
| 12 April | Yuri’s Night – 50th Anniversary of Human Space Flight |
| 17 April | SunDay |
| 17 April | Here Comes the Sun: Observe Sun remotely |
| 20 April | World Night in Defence of the Starlight |
| 21 to 22 April | Meteors without Borders – Lyrids Watch 2011 |
| 28 April, 20:00UT | Cosmic Concert – Online Musical Concert |
| 30 April | Write Your Name in the Sky!: Observe asteroids remotely |
| Throughout April | One Star at a Time – Fight Light Pollution |
| Throughout April | MoonDays |
| Throughout April | Astronomy without Barriers – programs for people with disabilities |
| Throughout April | Planetarian without Borders |
| Throughout April | Astropoetry for Global Astronomy Month |
| Throughout April | International Earth and Sky Photo Contest |
| Throughout April | Dark Skies Rangers |
| Throughout April | GAM Dark Skies Awareness Programs |
Register Your GAM Event Here
Spread the word and join the largest celebration of astronomy world-wide! 🙂
GAM 2011 Begins!
Global Astronomy Month 2011 has begun with events taking place worldwide.
The GAM Blog has launched. The first article , The Universe, Ours to Discover, was contributed by Astronomers Without Borders’ Founder and President Mike Simmons who describes the road from IYA2009 to GAM 2011. A great group of authors, outreach professionals and scientists have been invited to write for the GAM Blog throughout April.
Global Events so far
March 24 to 4 April — Globe at Night – Northern Hemisphere
March 24 to 6 April — Globe at Night – Southern Hemisphere
1 April — Online Messier Marathon : Observe all the Messier objects remotely
1 to 8 April — International Dark Skies Week
1 to 30 April — 30 Nights of StarPeace
2 April — Around the Ringed Planet : Observe Saturn remotely
2 to 3 April — Beatuy without Borders – Saturn Watch
Global Events Coming Soon
9 April — Global Star Party
Join amateur astronomers around the world in a 24-hour night of taking astronomy to the public!
9 April — Stars for All : Observe Deep Sky Objects Remotely
Bad weather, no telescope or through for the night? Join thousands of others observing from home through this special online remote observing event
10 to 16 April — Lunar Week
A wide range of programs, events, contests and some special surprises focusing on our closets neighbor in space. Stay tuned for more announcements.
17 April — SunDay
A project intended to raise people’s awareness of our star. What is it? How does it affect us? The different layers of the Sun, solar activity (sunspots, flares, prominences, coronal mass ejections and the solar wind), space weather, energy production, helioseismology—these are all different aspects of the Sun waiting to be discovered and understood.
See the GAM Program Schedule for all GAM Global Programs.
Sponsorship Opportunities Available
For information on sponsorship opportunities for Global Astronomy Month 2011 or specific programs during GAM see the GAM Sponsorship page or contact Mike Simmons .
Register Your GAM Event Now
Let everyone know about your events for Global Astronomy Month 2011 (GAM2011).
To register your event you must be logged in to an AWB user account. Just click to register your event here. If you are not logged in you’ll be taken to a page where you can log in or create an AWB user account before going on to the event registration page.
For detailed information on how to register your event, click on the “How to Register Your Event” Instruction page.
Important Notes for Successful Registration:
- GAM events should be within the Global Astronomy Month dates of April 1-30. If you have an event outside of these dates that is part of the Global Astronomy Month celebration please contact Jennie McCormick .
- Check your Google Map “push pin” placement once your event has been registered. If it is not placed correctly, first double-check the address you have entered for errors. You can also move the pin on the Google Map until it is correctly placed.
GAM2011 Posters Available
If you have events during Global Astronomy Month, here are two posters to help you tell the public about all the exciting activities.
The posters are available for download by clicking on the above images. Or go to the GAM Resources page where you can also find other useful material such as logos, banners, stickers and more.
If you’re still thinking about how to get involved in our global celebration of astronomy, we have 10 tips for you.
Poster credits:
Original concept and final layout by Ricardo Cardoso Reis
Design by David Occhino
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More information:
- GAM2011 Website: http://www.gam-awb.org
- StarPeace Website: http://www.starpeace.org/
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/gam_awb
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/gam.awb
For further information please contact:
Mike Simmons
President, Astronomers Without Borders
Chair, GAM2011 Working Group
mike@gam-awb.org
+1 818 486 7633
Thilina Heenatigala
GAM2011 Coordinator
thilina@gam-awb.org
+94 716 245 545
Oana Sandu
GAM2011 Public Relations Coordinator
oana@gam-awb.org
+40 724 024 625
10 Ways to Get Involved in Global Astronomy Month 2011
Wondering what you can do during Global Astronomy Month 2011? Check 10 Ways you could get involved!
April 2011 is rapidly approaching and Astronomers Without Borders from all around the globe are busy organizing events to mark the celebration of the month dedicated to astronomy and the beauty of observing the sky. Join them in this global pursuit of sharing the Universe with everyone under the motto One People, One Sky.
If you are still wondering how to get involved, here are a few ideas:
- Check the list of GAM global events and see which ones you could participate in. The pool of choices is diverse: from star parties to solar observations, from remote observing sessions to cosmic concerts, competitions and cultural events. All these events are opportunities for your local astronomy club, planetarium or public observatory to take part in an international project and attract the local community to your venue.
- Create an event to go along with one of the global programs, or something of your own. Share your event with the world and those in your area looking for GAM events by registering your event on the GAM website with a short description. If it’s something especially exciting or innovative let us know and we might include it on the GAM blog.
- Discover the Universe from the comfort of your own home. GAM offers two ways to enjoy remote observing. Join online, live events with real-time narration. Or take control for personal observing through remotely controlled telescopes or images on demand. See Remote Observing.
- If you’re a teacher, take your class to one of the events happening during Lunar Week (April 10-16)—for example, SunDay(April 7) or an evening observing session. Your students will be fascinated to discover the sky above. And be prepared to get a lot of questions from them!
- Organize a night out with your family. We recommend Lyrids Watch (April 21/22), as you can get confortable and warm right in front of your porch, and spend some family time together while gazing at the sky in search of falling stars.
- Instead of a night out in a club, take your friends to a different party, a Global Star Party (April 9). You will have the chance to meet Saturn and the Moon, as well as galaxies and star clusters.
- Spread the word about Global Astronomy Month among your family, friends, classmates, workmates, and neighbors so that they too can wonder at the beauties of the Universe.
- Stay in touch by following our website and blog. Join the conversation on Twitter by using #GAM2011, share your pictures on Flickr or become our friend on Facebook.
- Write an article about GAM if you are a journalist or a blogger and inform your readers about the events taking place near them in April.
- Become a sponsor of this international campaign. There are sponsorships opportunities throughout GAM2011, both for the entire month and for select, targeted programs. Download the GAM 2011 Sponsorship Package or contact AWB President Mike Simmons for more information.
Join the celebration in April 2011 as Global Astronomy Month brings together thousands of passionate individuals and hundreds of organizations worldwide to share their enthusiasm in innovative new ways, connecting people through a great sense of sharing the Universe!
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More information:
- Website: http://www.gam-awb.org
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/gam_awb
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/gam.awb
January 4, 2011 Partial Solar Eclipse Webcast
Some parts of the world will be able to greet the first part of the new year with a Partial Solar Eclipse on the morning of Tuesday, January 4, 2011. This will be visible from most of Europe, the northern half of Africa, the Middle East and Western Asia. Sadly, this won’t be visible to the Philippines. The next eclipse that we will be able to witness will be the Lunar Eclipse on June 15 (eclipse at moonset) and the more spectacular Total Lunar Eclipse on December 10 which has all its stages visible to Philippine observers.
Four partial solar and two total lunar eclipses take place in 2011. According to NASA Eclipse Website, this 4:2 combination of solar and lunar eclipses in a single year is rather rare with only six cases during the 21st Century (2011, 2029, 2047, 2065, 2076 and 2094).
January 4, 2011 Eclipse Visibility | source: http://www.eclipse.org.uk/eclipse/0122011/ Click image to enlarge.
An explanation of this diagram can be found here.
Notes:
> Local circumstances and animations for 532 different locations where the eclipse could be witnessed are also available from the the link included in the image caption.
> Universal Time (UT) is a timescale based on the earth’s rotation. To convert your local city time to UT, you may use this time zone converter tool.
A solar eclipse can only happen at new moon. When the moon totally covers over the sun, it’s called a total solar eclipse. However, since the moon only blocks out part of the sun today, it’s a partial solar eclipse. The percentage of sun that gets covered over by the moon depends on your place in the viewing zone. Remember to use proper eye protection when watching a solar eclipse! Here is a post from Sky & Telescope which discusses how to observe a partial solar eclipse safely.
To all other eclipse enthusiasts who won’t be able to observe this event from their own location or who can’t afford to travel to witness this phenomenon, I compiled here a list of links wherein you can watch free live web streaming of the eclipse courtesy of several local astronomical groups.
- Webcasts from the Israel Astronomy Society at Givatayim Observatory: www.education.org.il
- University of Barcelona’s Department of Astronomy and Meteorology:http://serviastro.am.ub.es/serviastro/www/html/eps2011/live/index.html
- Bareket Observatory, a private observatory in Israel*: http://www.bareket-astro.com/live-astronomical-web-cast/live-solar-eclipse-webcast-jan-04-2011.html (shared by AWB)
*The Moon will encroach 60% into the solar disk during thespecial live webcast by the Bareket Observatory. The webcast will takes place from 7.00 to 10.30 UT (GMT) on January 4. An “eclipse timer” on the webcast page will count down the time until first contact – the beginning of the eclipse when the Moon first appears to block the edge of the Sun’s disk – at 7.13 UT.
Please check this post for updates regarding these free webcasts. 😀
Clear skies to all!
“International Observe the Moon Night!” — 09.18.2010
SEEING THE MOON… in a whole new light
2009 was a very big year for lunar exploration. Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) began orbiting the Moon, returning more amazing images and more digital data in its first year than any other planetary mission in history. Meanwhile, Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) crashed into the Moon’s south polar region in an unprecedented search for water below the Moon’s surface.
International Observe the Moon Night (InOMN) – September 18, 2010 – follows NASA’s first celebration of these historic missions as part of the International Year of Astronomy 2009 in public events called “We’re at the Moon!” (for LRO) and “National Observe the Moon Night” in the USA (for LCROSS). Astronomers Without Borders (AWB) is partnering with NASA missions and centers and others to bring the excitement of observing and learning about Earth’s closest neighbor in space to the public — putting the “International” into InOMN.
Share the excitement of lunar exploration with the public by hosting your own InOMN event:
- Hold a public star party and give others a close-up look at our closest celestial neighbor
- Hold a public lecture or give a public presentation
- Contact a school near you and give a special presentation to classes
- Hold an online events like a Tweetup
Let’s fly to the moon! 😀
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Visit http://observethemoonnight.org/ to know more.
Journey to the Stars 