Members of the Watford Observer Camera Club took some cracking pictures as residents and motorists marvelled at the evening sky showing a beautiful meeting between the Waxing Crescent Moon and the planet Venus.
A similar display is expected tomorrow night when Venus – known as the Evening Star – is likely to be much closer to the moon.
It happens once a month during the second phase of the moon’s cycle, and appears in the western sky after sunset.
The moon’s phases are caused by its position relative to the sun as it orbits Earth – with the four main phases occurring about a week apart. Its cycle repeats every 29.5 days, and includes eight phases: new moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, third quarter, and waning crescent.
The year started with a bang with the Quadrantids, one of the strongest and most reliable yearly meteor showers active until January 12 and “famous for its ‘fireballs’, exceptionally bright meteors”, according to the Greenwich Observatory.
“To see this shower bundle up nice and warm, find a dark location free from light pollution, and fill your eyesight with as much of the sky as possible. To work out if you’ve seen a Quadrantid meteor trace it back to its radiant point, which should be in the northern part of the constellation Boötes.”
