If you were up before dawn, then you were lucky enough to see a breathtaking celestial sight. Many early-morning stargazers captured striking images of an eye-catching conjunction of the moon with Venus and Regulus, among the brightest stars in the night sky.
Just before sunrise, the waning crescent moon, the brilliant planet Venus, and Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation Leo, were close together, looking nearly aligned on the east-northeast horizon. The amazing sight was visible to the naked eye.
The “Earth-shine,” when sunlight reflects off Earth back onto the moon, provided a stunning view of the illuminated dark side of the moon.
“I think the added attraction was the moon being such a small waning crescent, making the Earthshine stand out, bringing about a certain extra beautiful view,” said Francine Jackson, staff astronomer at the Ladd Observatory at Brown University.
Jackson said she went out at 5:30 a.m. and “the sight of the second and third brightest celestial objects was magnificent.” About an hour later, she went outside again, “and, in the brightening east, the moon had moved just enough so that it was directly side by side with Venus, and it was still visible going back into the house 10 minutes later.”
Here are some of the images captured:
Globe meteorologist Dave Epstein was urging folks to look up and catch a glimpse early:
Marianne Mizera can be reached at marianne.mizera@globe.com. Follow her @MareMizera.
