When Venus and Jupiter flanked the moon

Chances are last night when you looked at the night sky; you were treated to an unusual sight. Venus and Jupiter, two bright lights, flanked the moon offer a spectacular view and for 30-odd people in the city, this simply fuelled their passion.

The members of Association of Bangalore Amateur Astronomers (ABAA) clustered around in a small room in the Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium for their weekly Sunday meetings, talking about all things related to the universe. While the lecture on Sunday focused on spotting constellations, the topic quickly veered to the phenomenon called ‘conjunction’.

Jayanth Basavarajaiah, president of ABAA, briefed the members on conjunction, which has Jupiter and the moon coming together in the same plane of sight. The lecture quickly morphed into a discussion on the motion of all planets in the solar system.
“The solar system is so fascinating,” sighed a member following the discussion.

Basavarajaiah said: “Moments like this spark interest in people. It was such a spectacle to look at two celestial objects that look like they are so close to one another,” he said.

However, he was quick to point out that another visual treat awaited us next month.

“On March 14, Jupiter and Venus will be within three degrees of each other,” he said.

As the rest of members huddled around a telescope outside, trying to decipher the mysteries of the universe, some just looked south-west for the sight that greeted them. “Looking at Venus and Jupiter on either side of the moon is terribly exciting. Last month, it looked like the moon was almost being cradled. And if you look at this through a telescope, you will also get to see the four moons of Jupiter,” said Leela Kalyanaraman, an old-timer at ABAA.

For Bhaskar Chandra, it is all about passion. “I joined ABAA last week and we saw the Mars rise. This is more of a dream and passion for me. Coming here made me realise how different reality is from the matter in textbooks,” he said.