Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of
our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief
explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2008 December
3 Explanation: Sunday, the sky seemed to smile over much of
planet Earth. Visible the world over was an unusual
superposition of our Moon and the planets Venus and Jupiter.
Pictures taken at the right time show a crescent Moon that
appears to be a smile when paired with the planetary conjunction
of seemingly nearby Jupiter and Venus. Pictured above is the
scene as it appeared from Mt. Wilson Observatory overlooking Los
Angeles, California, USA after sunset on 2008 November 30.
Highest in the sky and farthest in the distance is the planet
Jupiter. Significantly closer and visible to Jupiter's lower
left is Venus, appearing through Earth's atmospheric clouds as
unusually blue. On the far right, above the horizon, is our
Moon, in a waxing crescent phase. Thin clouds illuminated by the
Moon appear unusually orange. Sprawling acros