Article Posted on : - Oct 28, 2009

Jupiter came close to Gibbus moon (more than half moon) to form the conjunction.

NEW DELHI (PTI): Sky gazers on Tuesday had a celestial treat as the Moon and the Jupiter formed a conjunction over the evening sky.

Jupiter came close to Gibbus moon (more than half moon) to form the conjunction in the south-eastern sky, Science Popularisation Association of Communicators and Educators (SPACE) president Chandra Bhushan Devgun told PTI.

The celestial phenomenon occurred soon after sunset and was visible till late in the night, he said.

Conjunction is a term used in positional astronomy for the relative positions of celestial bodies. In the Moon-Jupiter conjunction, two celestial bodies will appear near each another in the sky. The event is also sometimes known as an appulse.

The conjunction was easily seen through naked eyes in thinly-clouded sky and city lights.

The two heavenly bodies were around 3.5 degrees apart, “that means as seen from earth the apparent distance between them in the sky was 7 times the size of full moon,” he said.

"It was a lovely treat for us (amateur astronomers). Seeing the Jovian planet, Jupiter popularly known as, coming close to the moon was spectacular," an Amateur astronomer Nisha Jain said.