Contemplating the Night Sky: Young Skywatchers Admire Venus, Moon & Jupiter

Nina Sen, SPACE.com Contributor

Date: 30 April 2012 Time: 06:00 AM ET

The skywatchers' three children admiring the beautiful conjunction between the crescent Moon, Jupiter and Venus on March 25, 2012. From left to right: Edoardo ,8, Rebecca, 10, and Miranda (Edoardo's twin, 8).
CREDIT: Stephano De Rosa

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Three little skywatchers look on in wonder as they witness the recent conjunction between Jupiter, Venus and the Moon. The image was taken by Stefano De Rosa from Turin, Italy on March 25.

Rosa’s three children, Edoardo, 8, his twin Miranda and their older sister Rebecca, 10, sometimes accompany him on skywatching trips.

“Usually Rebecca joins me during the astrophoto sessions as she is becoming very interested in astronomy and space,” De Rosa wrote in an email. “The triple conjunction was a very special event so also the twins wanted to attend the show.”

Although both planets are quite far from each other, they appear to be very close in the night sky, creating a conjunction.

In the image, Venus is higher and brighter with Jupiter shining closer to the crescent moon. Venus-Jupiter conjunctions are fairly special events, occurring roughly every 13 months. Experts said this year’s conjunction was especially stunning because the planets were visible together for so long and were so bright in the sky. [Amazing Photos of Venus and Jupiter]

The event was an unforgettable experience for his family, De Rosa wrote.

“We moved to a very quiet hill in the surroundings of Turin and fortunately the sky was crystal clear and of an intense blue: a perfect background for the photo. The children were very enthusiastic and collaborative even I must say that was not so easy to keep them still for a few seconds,” he wrote.

Editor's note: If you have an amazing skywatching photo you'd like to share for a possible story or image gallery, please contact managing editor Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com.

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