Brilliant Venus and a crescent Moon lined up in conjunction on the evening of December 26, 2011. This scene was presented to me as I walked out of the grocery store Monday evening on the 26th. As I placed my packages in to my car I remembered that I had left my camera in the trunk from the day before. I quickly attached my 70 – 300mm zoom lens and captured this shot.

So, what is a conjunction? Conjunction is a term used in positional astronomy. It means that, as seen from the Earth, two celestial bodies appear near one another in the sky. In this case it’s Venus and the Moon.  Although not a close conjunction as some planetary groupings but, still an eye catching view because of each objects brightness. The Moon is just two days past new phase and is about 6 percent illuminated while Venus shines at about magnitude -4.0. The pair is separated by about 7 degrees. Another Conjunction of Venus and moon will occur again on Jan. 25 and 26 2012. I’m looking forward to it.