Stefano De Rosa? in Turin, Italy captured Venus and the Pleiades on April 2, 2020.View larger at EarthSky Community Photos. | Jenney Disimon in Sabah, N. Borneo, caught this view of Venus and the Pleiades between trees on April 2. She wrote: “I feel so romantic seeing the romance of Venus and the Pleiades star cluster.”
Clouded out? Gianluca Masi at the Virtual Telescope Project is also gearing up to present the Venus-Pleiades conjunction to you online. He wrote to EarthSky this weekend:
In the coming week week, the sky will offer us something unique, coming back every 8 years only: a stunning conjunction, involving planet Venus, the brightest object up there these evenings and the wonderful Pleiades, a spectacular star cluster, one of the best gems of the deep sky. To bring some joy from this cosmic show to people worldwide, often quarantined to limit the dissemination of COVID-19, the Virtual Telescope will share this celestial treasure with everyone, offering a live view covering the climax of this cosmic hug between Venus and the Pleiades.
Poster of the upcoming online event – April 3, 2020 – presented by Gianluca Masi of the Virtual Telescope Project in Rome. Read more about the Virtual Telescope’s April 3 online event. And notice the times are in UTC; here’s how to translate UTC to your time.View larger at EarthSky Community Photos. | Venus moves closer to the Pleiades in Chuck Reinhart’s photo capturing Venus and the Pleiades from Vincennes, Indiana, on April 1, 2020. Thank you, Chuck!Larry Ilardo caught the Pleiades and Venus from Buffalo, New York, on April 1.View larger at EarthSky Community Photos. | Pradnya Gharpure caught Venus and the Pleiades on April 1 from Nagpur, India, and wrote: “Dazzling Venus and the pretty cluster Pleiades make a beautiful sight this evening as they draw closer!!”View larger at EarthSky Community Photos. | Kevin Saragozza captured this striking view of Venus and the Pleiades from Siracusa Plemmeiro on April 1. He wrote: “I positioned myself outside in my garden, not having the possibility to catch the alignment together with interesting terrestrial elements because of the COVID-19 quarantine, I preferred a view only from the sky, the Pleiades and Venus aligned in a vertical position.”View larger at EarthSky Community Photos. | Radu Anghel captured many Pleiades stars and a brilliant Venus in this photo from April 1 taken in Bacau, Romania. Radu wrote: “Venus and the Pleiades cluster. Two more days before the 8 years meeting. From isolation, but with a great western view.”View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Stephanie Longo in Woodland Park, Colorado, captured Venus and the Pleiades on the evening of April 1. The conjunction of Venus with the Pleiades’ brightest star – called Alcyone – will happen on April 3. Read more.Piotr Wieczorek shared this beautiful view of the Pleiades and Venus that he took on March 31. Thank you, Piotr!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Marek Nikodem caught these stargazers near Szubin, Poland, looking at the moon, Venus and the Pleiades on March 28, 2020. Thank you, Marek.The moon, Venus and the Pleiades – March 28, 2020 – via Fred Espenak.View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Dennis Schoenfelder saw this glorious view of Venus, the moon, and the Pleiades from his front door in Alamosa, Colorado, on March 28. Thank you, Dennis!Astronomer Alessandro Marchini – director of the Astronomical Observatory at the University of Siena in Italy – wrote on March 28, 2020: “Stargazing from my backyard this evening, with the wonderful triangle with the crescent moon, Venus and the Pleiades (1.3 light-second, 5.5 light-minutes, 445 light-years away each from Earth). Photographed with my Canon Camera and a 100 mm lens on a tripod.” Thank you, Alessandro! Venus is the bright object next to the moon. The Pleiades is the tiny, dipper-shaped star cluster at the top of the photo.View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Stephen Thurston captured this view of the moon, Venus and the Pleiades on March 27. He wrote: “Moon and Venus setting over Lake Champlain from Ferrisburgh, VT.”Tom Wildoner of the Dark Side Observatory wrote: “I was lucky on the evening on March 27, 2020, to capture this nice view of the planet Venus approaching the Pleiades star cluster in the constellation Taurus. Think this is close? Wait until the evening on April 3rd, the planet Venus will be inside this cluster!” Thank you, Tom!View larger at EarthSky Community Photos. | Raul Cortes in Monterrey, Mexico, caught the Pleiades and labeled the major stars on March 26. He wrote: “Pleiades and some of its most brilliant stars.”
Bottom line: This week, Venus – the brightest planet and dazzling “evening star” in the west after sunset now – will pass the beautiful Pleiades star cluster, also known as the Seven Sisters. We’re already getting photos … submit yours here. Look west after sunset!
Deborah Byrd created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. Today, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of this website. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. In 2020, she won the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society, the largest organization of professional astronomers in North America. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.
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