The night sky keeps producing magical moments, be it an eclipse or a meteor shower. But the smaller celestial events are as moving as the big ones. On November 7, there will be another such event when the Moon and Venus will pose nearby.
“Should be really pretty, so don’t miss it,” NASA said in its November skywatching update. The sliver of the Moon will be seen below and a little to the right of Venus. While the upcoming event will seen the Moon and Venus at their closest, stargazer will get an extended window for some great planet-spotting opportunities.
Great opportunity for stargazers
“From Nov. 6th through the 11th, watch the moon glide past Venus, Saturn, and Jupiter after sunset in the south/southwest,” NASA said. Jupiter and Saturn can also be seen moving closer to Venus each night through early December.
Speaking of Venus, Earth’s closest neighbor is becoming the hot interest of astronomers. The European Space Agency (ESA) has confirmed that it will be sending missions to explore Venus. The space agency will be joining NASA that has also announced its return to the hellish planet after 30 years.
Exploring Venus like never before
The sudden rush to reach the hellish planet shows that astronomers are keen to learn more about Earth’s nearest planet. Venus shares many characteristics with our planet, despite lacking capabilities to foster life. The mission from ESA will be called EnVision and it will be fitted with a high-resolution camera called VenSAR that will take high-res measurements of Venus’s surface. The camera will be provided by NASA.
Apart from VenSAR, the mission will also pack a second radar unit that can scan Venus’ makeup up to .62 miles deep. The spacecraft will also have spectrometers to search for hotspots that will help determine the atmosphere of the planet.
