Venus In The Moon (Apod 2008 Dec. 4)

[orin stepanek]

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap081204.html

The other day my wife asked what the stars were next to the moon. When I told her she commented that a lady at work asked her about them. She said the lady told her how beautiful they were. The next day the lady complained that the news media said the conjunction looked like a frown. The next day it looked like a smiley face in California. I guess it all depended on where you were viewing from. 8) Either way it is a beautiful sight.

Orin

[Chris Peterson]

The other day my wife asked what the stars were next to the moon. When I told her she commented that a lady at work asked her about them. She said the lady told her how beautiful they were. The next day the lady complained that the news media said the conjunction looked like a frown. The next day it looked like a smiley face in California. I guess it all depended on where you were viewing from. 8) Either way it is a beautiful sight.

Not where you were viewing from, but when. On November 30, the Moon was west of the two planets, so the grouping looked like

: )

On December 1, the Moon was east of the two, so you got

) :

A smile the first night, a frown the second. Everywhere on Earth. Your location could change the rotation of the grouping with respect to the horizon, but not the pattern itself.

[orin stepanek]

Thanks Chris! That puts clarity on it. I wondered about it.

Orin