Skywatcher Photos: Dazzling Views of Venus & the Moon

By Tariq Malik
published

Venus & the Moon by Jeffrey Berkes

Jeffrey Berkes

Astrophotographer Jeffrey Berkes of West Chester, Pa., snapped this stunning view of planet Venus and the crescent moon during a bright conjunction on Dec. 26, 2011.

Venus & the Moon by David Smoyer

David Smoyer

Skywatcher David Smoyer in Truckee, Calif., snapped this dazzling view of the moon and Venus just after sunset on Dec. 26, 2011 during a bright conjunction.

Venus & the Moon by Jeffrey Berkes

Jeffrey Berkes

Astrophotographer Jeffrey Berkes of West Chester, Pa., snapped this stunning view of planet Venus and the crescent moon during a bright conjunction on Dec. 26, 2011.

Venus & the Moon Over Kent, CT

Scott Tully

The crescent moon and Venus shine bright over the Housatonic River in Kent, Conn., on Dec. 26, 2011 during a dazzling conjunction. This photo was taken by skywatcher Scott Tully.

Standing on a Corner in Mesa, Arizona

Casey Stanford

Skywatcher Casey Stanford captured this image of the moon and Venus from Mesa, Ariz. "I was reading the article on Space.com about the moon and Venus being in conjunction, and figured I'd send in a couple [photographs] that I snapped myself on December 26," Stanford wrote in an e-mail.

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Tariq Malik
Tariq Malik
Editor-in-Chief

Tariq is the Editor-in-Chief of Space.com and joined the team in 2001, first as an intern and staff writer, and later as an editor. He covers human spaceflight, exploration and space science, as well as skywatching and entertainment. He became Space.com's Managing Editor in 2009 and Editor-in-Chief in 2019. Before joining Space.com, Tariq was a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times covering education and city beats in La Habra, Fullerton and Huntington Beach. In October 2022, Tariq received the Harry Kolcum Award (opens in new tab) for excellence in space reporting from the National Space Club Florida Committee. He is also an Eagle Scout (yes, he has the Space Exploration merit badge) and went to Space Camp four times as a kid and a fifth time as an adult. He has journalism degrees from the University of Southern California and New York University. You can find Tariq at Space.com and as the co-host to the This Week In Space podcast (opens in new tab) with space historian Rod Pyle on the TWiT network (opens in new tab). To see his latest project, you can follow Tariq on Twitter @tariqjmalik (opens in new tab).