Rendezvous of Venus, Jupiter and the Moon

Venus, Jupiter and the Moon huddle for a rendezvous above a block of HDB flats in Singapore, forming a Celestial Triangle. Venus is the brightest spot near the top, Jupiter is to the right. Regulus, one of the stars making up the constellation of Leo, can also be seen at the top of Venus.

Almost exactly three years ago, I caught the “Celestial Triangle” formed by Venus, Jupiter and a crescent moon early one morning. Earlier tonight, I managed to catch the gorgeous sight again, thanks to a tip-off in the Straits Times’ website which carried the news of this celestial event.

As the sun set, I started to see a faint crescent moon along with a brightly shining Venus. Jupiter was barely visible. A waxing crescent moon hangs below them. The trio was relatively high up in the sky at dusk, and I managed to capture the following shot.

Venus, Jupiter and the Moon rendezvous at dusk on 18 Jul 2015 to form the Celestial Triangle. Venus is at the top, Jupiter is barely visible at the right, and of course, the crescent moon is below.

Wanting to add a sense of place to the shot, I waited for the trio to set further down the horizon, getting them close enough to include the blocks of HDB flats below. It’s really nice to be able to see and catch this right from the corridor outside my flat. While reviewing my shots, I have also noticed an additional star, in addition to the two planets. It turned out to be Regulus, the brightest star of the constellation of Leo. In the opening shot, it’s above and to the right of Venus.

Light pollution was causing the night sky to have a rather murky colour, so in the final shot at the opening of this post, I have adjusted the white balance to give a bluer, more pleasing tone.

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