A Wellington photographer has captured a time lapse of Monday night’s crescent moon approaching Venus, which showed the crest of the moon appearing just below Venus.
According to astronomers, Venus, the brightest and hottest planet in the solar system, has been escalating since October and will be at its brightest until the end of November.
On Monday, according to NASA, the four-day-old crescent moon was about two degrees away from Venus. The Earth’s natural satellite will also pass by Saturn and Jupiter until November 11.
On Monday evening, “the bright planet Venus will appear about five degrees to the upper left of the thin, waxing crescent Moon,” NASA’s website explained.
Wellington photographer Seán Gillespie captured the astronomical event on Monday night and told 1News the time lapse represented about “10-15 minutes of movement”.
"While we’ve had some spectacular night-sky activity over the past few years, watching these two slowly setting over Wellington had a lovely ‘small-universe’ vibe to it," Gillespie said.
"Whereas strong auroras can be flashy and dizzying, and eclipses and blood moons ominous, Venus and the moon together had a cutesy romantic touch to it.
“I have to say I’m thankful for Wellington’s clean air and limited light pollution that allow for better night-sky photography. I shot the time lapse from Oriental Bay over the central city,” Gillespie said.
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