View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Claire Shickora was at Blythe Island Regional Park, Brunswick, Georgia, on Thanksgiving evening – November 28, 2019 – when she caught this beautiful image. She wrote: “After a spectacular sunset at the marina, the clouds broke up enough for me to get this shot (from right to left) of Jupiter, Venus, the moon, and barely-visible Saturn. Passersby were awed as I pointed out exactly what I was photographing.” Thank you, Claire!
To see more photos of this week’s planets and moon, look in EarthSky Community Photos, and also at EarthSky on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Our thanks to all who posted and submitted! What a wealth of wonderful planet photos.
By the way, in the photos on this page – and in the sky – Venus is brighter than Jupiter, and much brighter than Saturn. The moon, of course, is brightest of all.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Jorge Cardenas in Salem, Oregon, caught the planets in bright twilight on November 29, 2019. If they’re hard to catch in this image, try a larger view. Jorge wrote: “Sunset view of the moon, Saturn, Venus and Jupiter from left to right.” Thank you, Jorge!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Idriss Dhoparee in Chemin Grenier, Mauritius, captured this image on November 29, 2019, and wrote: “Took this photo about 45 minutes after sunset. The sky was clear and these four planets looked amazing.” Thank you, Idriss!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Dennis Chabot of Posne NightSky in Rehoboth, Massachusetts, caught the planets on November 28 and wrote: “Awesome sight last night of the waxing crescent moon with Venus below the moon and Jupiter setting in the west.” Thank you, Dennis.View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Peter Lowenstein in Mutare, Zimbabwe, wrote on November 28: “Beautiful Southern Hemisphere twilight view of triangular conjunction of Venus, Jupiter and the two-day-old waxing crescent moon, with Saturn and some Sagittarius stars above them.” Thank you, Peter!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Alexander Krivenyshev of WorldTimeZone.com – on the island of Manhattan, New York, New York – wrote on Thanksgiving night: “Balancing between Thanksgiving dinner and rapidly changing evening sky – when the waxing crescent moon and 2 planets (Jupiter and Venus) were lowering rapidly between tall trees, New York city buildings and street lights.” Thank you, Alexander!Steven Sweet of Lunar 101-Moon Book wrote: “Moon and Venus, November 28, 2019.” Thank you, Steven!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Karen Pitts caught the crescent moon and Venus on Thanksgiving evening, November 28, 2019. She wrote: “Image after sunset taken over the Tolomato River River, North St. Augustine, Florida.” Thank you, Karen!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Tim Yacyshyn in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, caught this image on November 28 with an iPhone 8 and wrote: “Looking southwest over the city center at dusk. It was extremely clear after sunset today, which is quite rare. As you can see, 3 of the planets, plus the moon, were captured in this single image.” Thank you, Tim.
The Venus-Jupiter conjunction occurred on Sunday night, November 24, 2019. The photos below are just a sampling of what we received from our community in the day or two following the conjunction: Venus and Jupiter as seen from around the world.
Marsha Kirschbaum in California caught this photo Sunday evening – November 24, 2019 – the day of the Venus-Jupiter conjunction. She wrote: “The Point Reyes Lighthouse recently reopened after some much-needed maintenance, and I decided it would be the perfect foreground, provided the fog stayed away. The sunset was beautiful and as the sky began to darken, first Venus shimmered into view and then Jupiter. As predicted, the moisture in the air increased and began to coat my tripod and camera. And then … bonus! The remnants of the southern arm of the Milky Way came into view to provide a wonderful backdrop to the planet action.” Thank you, Marsha!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Elizabeth Bettenhausen – west of Cambria, California, along the Pacific coast – caught Venus (brighter) and Jupiter on the evening of November 23, 2019. She wrote it was: “… quite the post-sunset conclusion to a high-tide, high-surf gorgeous day.” Read more about the November 24 Venus-Jupiter conjunction.View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Andrea Deegan in Western Australia caught Venus and Jupiter after sunset on November 23, 2019. She wrote: “I noticed Venus and Jupiter were shining brightly low on the horizon while at the beach with friends doing some light playing.” Thank you, Andrea!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Dr Ski in Valencia, Philippines, wrote on November 22, 2019: “Been waiting for a long time to capture this shot of Venus and Jupiter alongside my Traveller Palm at sunset!”View at EarthSky Community Photos. | David Rojas in Villa Caneles, Guatemala, caught the planets on November 21 and wrote: “The capture was made on the slopes of a volcano called Pacaya. The distance between the planets and their brightness was very similar. The colors after the sun went down behind the horizon bathe the sky that could already be seen with countless stars, a little away from the city’s pollution.” Thank you, David!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Kathy Wollman in Valley Center, California, caught this image of Venus and Jupiter on November 21, 2019. She wrote: “Venus, Jupiter, virga.” Thank you, Kathy!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Setting Jupiter and Venus over Sabah, N. Borneo, on November 21, via our friend Jenney Disimon.View full image at EarthSky Community Photos. | Venus and Jupiter, from our friend Dr Ski in the Philippines on November 20, 2019. Thank you, Dr Ski. These 2 planets are the brightest ones seen from Earth. Their conjunction was November 24.View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Peter Lowenstein in Mutare, Zimbabwe, captured this image on November 18, 2019. He wrote: “A break in the weather after the onset of the rains provided a good Southern Hemisphere view of Jupiter (above) and bright Venus (below) getting closer together in the twilight sky. Antares is also faintly visible (lower left).” Thank you, Peter! The planets after sunset now are most easily viewed from Earth’s Southern Hemisphere, where the ecliptic – or path of the sun, moon and planets – makes a steep angle with the sunset horizon.View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Carl Keene also caught the planets on November 18, from San Jose, California. You can see that, from this Northern Hemisphere location, the planets are exceedingly low in the west after sunset. There’s a 3rd planet in this photo, too, Saturn, in the upper left. Thank you, Carl!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Low in the sky – or high in the sky – these 2 planets are bright! Kannan A caught Venus and Jupiter over one of the most brightly lit cities in the world – Singapore – on November 14. Thanks, Kannan A!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Here are Venus and Jupiter on November 14, 2019, as viewed by Dr Ski in Valencia, Philippines. Thanks, Dr. Ski!View larger. | For reference … here are Venus and Jupiter on October 30, 2019, when the young moon was sweeping past them. They were much farther apart in late October than they were in late November. By early December, Jupiter will be visible only with difficulty in the western twilight. It’ll disappear in the sun’s glare before the year ends. Venus will go on to be the “evening star” – visible from all of Earth – for the first part of 2020. Photo by Steve Pauken of Winslow, Arizona. Thank you, Steve!
Bottom line: Photos from the EarthSky Community of the very bright planets Jupiter and Venus – the moon – and the planet Saturn, all in the west after sunset. Watch for them! By the way, now that the Jupiter-Venus conjunction has passed (on November 24, 2019), Jupiter will sink into the sunset. It’ll be gone entirely by about mid-December. Saturn is also sinking into the sun’s glare; it’ll be gone by the year’s end. Venus will continue to ascend higher in the western twilight sky. It’ll become our beautiful “evening star” for the first months of 2020.
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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