Don't miss a rare, fascinating celestial happening Monday evening

By Keshav P.

KATHMANDU, Dec 1 - Whether you are an amateur astronomer or a casual sky-gazer, you better keep your eyes on the sky Monday evening if you want to witness a rare and exciting celestial  event"conjunction of planet Venus, earth's nearest neighbour, and Jupiter, our solar system's largest ...

A casual sky-gazer will see two bright objects about a hand's width above the horizon, right where the sun is setting or has just set. In which, the brighter one will be Venus and just above Venus, there will be Jupiter.

Venus, the second planet from the Sun, seen from the earth as a bright morning or evening star, is the third brightest object in our sky, out-shown only by the Sun and the Moon.

"Conjunction of two planets occurs when they come close to each other while revolving around the sun," said Rishi Shah, Academician at Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST).

According to Shah, a noted astronomer, who has arranged a programme to observe the event at NAST in Khumaltar from 5 to 7 Monday evening, conjunction of two planets is a part of celestial phenomenon and happens due to the narrowed distance between them and their paths, remaining in which they revolve around the sun. "But this one [Venus-Jupiter conjunction] is rare because it is the alignment of an inner planet and an outer one," added he.

Venus, which lies close to the earth, is considered an inner planet besides Mercury and Mars, while Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus are called the outer planets.

"Closeness of the moon to this conjunction is a mere coincidence," the NAST academician said," To tote up the fascination of our observation.

This sky pretty can be seen with the naked eye, but binoculars and telescopes will give a clearer and closer view, revealing some of the Jovian details. The close conjunction of these two planets happens twice in every two and half years.

"It happens either in the morning or in the evening," said Shah, adding that there is always a gap of ten months between the morning and evening conjunctions. Ten months back in February, the two planets had come closer and aligned this way, however, in the morning.

Meanwhile, Lecturer Jayanta Acharya, who teaches eastern astronomy at Mahendra Sanskrit University, thinks that even to the ones who do not know much about heavenly bodies and sky watching, this event will be spectacular and memorable.

Flanked by his students and amateur sky watchers who gathered at his residence in Lazimpat in the capital to warm up their knack for sky-gazing Sunday evening, Acharya said, "The moon is a little bit far today. By tomorrow evening, just after the sunset it will appear closer to Venus and Jupiter.

"The tryst of the two planets glowing in the sky with the crescent shaped natural satellite of the earth, i.e. the moon, will hold everybody spellbound," said he, projecting his 300X telescope towards the southwest Kathmandu sky from his rooftop.

Shah, who has arranged the observation programme in collaboration with Nepal Astronomical Society (NASo), said, "Come to NAST premises at 5 pm to witness this event.

According to Acharya, however the closeness of the two planets can be seen for a week. "Following the end of conjunction also, Venus and Jupiter that started coming closer for a month will be seen close to each other for a week.

Meanwhile, a pundit of eastern astrology said that the closeness of Venus and Jupiter does not bode good sign. "This shows that there could be an abrupt change in the climate and war may begin," said Prof Dr Sambaraj Acharya.