Xinhua News Agency, Tianjin, February 27 (Reporter Zhou Runjian) The "Astronomical Theater" will start in March, and there will be many good shows. Among them, the combination of gold and wood must be grasped, and the moon will cover Venus. Don't miss it.
In the western sky on the evening of March 2, the two brightest planets in the solar system, Venus and Jupiter, were in close proximity, and they "joined" side by side, and staged a wonderful "two-person turn" for the public.
"Because these two planets are very bright, they can be easily seen with the naked eye even in cities with severe light pollution." Song Yuanyuan, director of the Tianjin Astronomical Society and an expert in astronomy at the Tianjin Science and Technology Museum, said.
On March 21, Ceres, the only dwarf planet in the asteroid belt, will stage an opposition performance.
At opposition, Ceres and the sun are exactly on the two sides of the earth, and the three are almost in a straight line, and the side of Ceres illuminated by the sun will completely face the earth.
Song Yuanyuan said that when Ceres is at its brightest, it is an excellent time to observe it.
At that time, as long as the weather is fine, the interested public can find it in the background of stars with the help of a small astronomical telescope.
On the evening of March 24, a lunar occultation of Venus, which is very suitable for our country's observations, will be staged in the western sky.
The lunar occultation of Venus means that the moon moves between the earth and Venus, and the three line up in a straight line. At that time, the moon will "pass" in front of Venus.
Since the apparent diameter of the moon is much larger than that of Venus, it will completely block Venus when it "passes by".
Venus will completely "disappear" for a short period of time, and then quickly reappear after a while.
"The 24th is the third day of the second month of the lunar calendar, and the moon phase is a crescent moon like a hook. In some parts of southern my country, you can see the interesting scene of Venus being 'eaten' by a small crescent, while the northern part can't see the occultation process. But you can see Venus 'passing by' next to the little crescent moon, which is also very ornamental." Song Yuanyuan said.
At around 21:00 on March 28, a beautiful Mars-moon conjunction will appear in Tianyu. The interested public can watch the picture of Mars and the first-quarter moon closely accompanied by the naked eye; at 14:00 on March 31, Venus and Uranus It is a pity that the closest "distance" between the two occurs during the day, but Venus and Uranus are still not far away on the evening of the 30th and 31st. The interested public can witness this "intimate moment" with a small astronomical telescope during this period.