Venus nestles in lap of 'Crescent Moon'

New Delhi, June 18: In a breathtaking celestial event, the brightest planet of the Universe Venus tonight nestled in the lap of a "Crescent-shaped" Moon, a phenomenon that was last witnessed in November 2004.

In an event called the 'lunar occultation of Venus', the Crescent Moon and Venus made a breathtaking pair in the skies tonight with the latter adding to the radiance of the Moon. At sunset today, Delhiites witnessed the beautiful sight of the bright Venus 'coming close to the dark Crescent Moon'. Then, at 2130 hours, the Moon moved in front of Venus.

Scientists say it is a rare event that last occurred in November 2004 in the early hours of the day.

A Lunar occultation happens when a celestial body appears to have moved behind the moon. Such events happen very frequently but in most cases the star being occulted may be very faint. However, when bright stars or planets such as Venus are occulted by the moon, the event can be seen with the naked eyes.

If the sky is clear the view of a bright Venus sleeping behind the dark Crescent Moon is like a shy maiden. The best thing about this is that one does not need a telescope to view this phenomenon.

Lunar Occultation of Venus by the Moon also happens when the Moon is in a crescent phase, thereby reducing the glare of the Moon.

On occasion of this rare celestial event, Nehru Planetarium and Vigyan Prasar, in collaboration with Science Popularisation Association of Communicators and Educators (S.P.A.C.E., an NGO) and the Amateur Astronomers Association of Delhi, organised a public sky-watch at the Jantar Mantar this evening.

The sky-watch started at 1700 hours, with Sun observations using the Ram Yantra. Telescopes were set up within the Jantar Mantar complex to view the approach of Moon and Venus and also to view Saturn and Jupiter.

''The lunar occultation is a routine celestial event, but it's beautiful to observe,''says Dr Rathnasree, Director, Nehru planetarium. Unlike other celestial objects, stars and planets, the Moon is very close to the Earth, and hence appears to be the biggest object in the night sky. As it travels across the horizon, the moon usually comes between the earth and a celestial object, thus blocking the view of the latter from the earth. But the object that gets hidden is usually so faint that the occultation is very difficult to notice. And this is why the occultation of Venus is a special event for the astronomy enthusiasts, say experts.

Venus is so luminous that the glare of the moon does not wash it out. The event also occurs when the moon is a crescent, a stage when it is not very dazzling. Put together, the conditions ensure that the observer does not need any optical instruments to catch a glimpse of one bright object blocking out the other.

UNI