Venus and Jupiter will surround the Moon this evening, according to astronomers. The two planets will meet before sunset on December 1, then surround the crescent Moon in the southwestern sky. More photos>>

A rare astronomical phenomenon was seen across the world Monday night as two of the brightest naked-eye planets, Venus and Jupiter, joined a thin crescent moon in the sky. On Sunday night, the two planets appeared closest together in an event known as "Planetary Conjunction".[Xinhua]

Venus, the nearest planet to the Earth, has been pursuing Jupiter, King of the Eight Planets, from the west for several days. On the evening of November 30, Venus, followed by the Moon, was very close to the southwest of Jupiter. It was predicted that by 9:00 a.m. of December 1, Venus would catch up with Jupiter. At 12:00 p.m. today, the Moon will also overtake Jupiter and obscure Venus for an hour.

The Moon, Venus and Jupiter are the brightest celestial bodies in the night sky and it is a very rare event for the three to be aligned with the Moon in the middle. The spectacle can be observed in the southwestern sky about half an hour after sunset. If you have a telescope, you will also be able to see Venus together with a line of Jupiter's moons.

A crescent moon is seen below planets Jupiter (L) and Venus (R) in the sky over Nairobi, capital of Kenya, Dec. 1, 2008. A rare astronomical phenomenon was seen across the world Monday night as two of the brightest naked-eye planets, Venus and Jupiter, joined a thin crescent moon in the sky. On Sunday night, the two planets appeared closest together in an event known as "Planetary Conjunction". [Xinhua]

(China.org.cn by Huang Shan, December 1, 2008)