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IN RECENT weeks Venus and Jupiter have been approaching each other in the evening sky. Tonight they were right next to each other separated only by a third of a degree, so I was able to fit them into the same view with my 150-500mm lens fully extended.
The brighter Venus was in a half crescent as it is coming around in front of the sun catching up to Earth. Jupiter is getting left behind by Earth's faster orbit. Although they seem very close together, Jupiter is a lot further behind, separated by around 700 million kilometres.
A thick layer of carbon dioxide cloud covers Venus making it the brightest object in the sky behind the sun and the moon. Jupiter is the next brightest object in the sky. Although Jupiter appears half the size of Venus, it has over ten times the diameter. Venus is a solid planet only slightly smaller than Earth. Jupiter on the other hand is a gas giant planet. It's chemical composition is very similar to that of a star. If it increased its mass by about fifty times, it would have enough pressure in its interior to ignite as a dwarf star. Even at its current mass, Jupiter emits more radiation than it receives, causing it to shrink about two centimetres per year.
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