Australians See Smiley Face in Night Sky
Monday, December 01, 2008 |
FoxNews.com
News Limited
The cosmic smile hanging in the sky above Port Melbourne, Australia.
The cosmic smile hanging in the sky above Port Melbourne, Australia.
Australians are getting a big hello from the heavens as Venus, Jupiter and a waxing crescent moon combine to create a celestial smiley face.
Unfortunately, because North Americans are on the other side of the equator, they'll view the phenomenon another way — as a sad face with downcast mouth.
The best time to see the friendly phenomenon is about 20 to 30 minutes after sunset in both hemispheres, report the News Corporation's Australian newspapers.
• Click here to read more about this in the News Corporation Australian papers.
• Click here to visit FOXNews.com's Space Center.
Local astronomers said that Venus and Jupiter had appeared side by side in the evening sky over the past week or so, but Monday night would be the best night to see the "face" appear.
Viewers in Western Australia have the best view, with the moon appearing closer to the "eyes" formed by the planets.
While the planets and moon appear to be close together, in reality they're not. The moon is 250,000 miles away, while Venus is 93 million miles away and Jupiter 540 million miles away.
Stargazers in Europe and Africa will miss out completely. By the time the sun sets for them the moon will appear between the planets, pushing the "mouth" between the "eyes" to create more of a Picasso-esque effect.
