Crescent Moon, Jupiter, And Venus Appear Perfectly Aligned In Singapore Night Sky
As the Sun set on Thursday (23 Feb), residents in Singapore were treated to a rare celestial event in the night skies.
The moon, Jupiter, and Venus — represented by bright ‘dots’ in the sky — appeared perfectly aligned along a straight line.
Residents lucky enough to witness the phenomenon took to Facebook to share photos of the celestial ‘join-the-dot’ exercise, reportedly visible from about sunset to 9pm.
Moon, Jupiter & Venus resemble perfectly-aligned ‘dots’ in night sky
On Thursday (23 Feb) night, netizens shared photos of the celestial phenomenon on Facebook.
In the pictures, three illuminated ‘dots’ appeared aligned along a straight line, as if carefully drawn with a set square and ruler.
Though the dots appeared just like any other stars in the night sky, they were in fact the moon, Jupiter and Venus — in descending order from the top.
The moon appeared the largest and brightest of the three ‘dots’ — presumably due to its close proximity to Earth — followed by Venus and Jupiter.
Phenomenon seen across Singapore
The phenomenon was apparently visible across Singapore. Here’s how it looked from the eastern estate of Tampines.
The Jupiter and Venus conjunction was similarly seen near MacRitchie Reservoir at the other end of the island.
Meanwhile, the sighting served as a fitting backdrop to the lighted Supertrees over at Gardens by the Bay
This netizen who happened to be at Singapore Botanic Gardens last night managed to snap a picture worthy of being the cover of an astrological book.
Moon was 1 degree apart from Jupiter
According to NASA, the crescent moon was just a degree wide of Jupiter in the western sky on 23 Feb, with Venus “hanging beneath them”.
Stargazers can also look forward to another interesting celestial phenomenon next Monday (27 Feb) when the moon and Mars similarly sit less than a degree apart.
A breathtaking sight
Celestial phenomenons like these never fail to take our breaths away.
Did you manage to catch a glimpse of the Jupiter-Venus conjunction last night? Share pictures of your sightings in the comments.
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Featured image adapted from Singapore Sidewalk Astronomy on Facebook and Chuan Shin Tan on Facebook.Â