Smiley in the Sky

SMILEY IN THE SKY

as on December first 2008,18:23 PM

It was a fascinating view. Last evening when I was having my usual walk.. my friend said.. "hey ladies look at the moon today.. it looks like a smiley." Wow what a view it was!!!!!!!!!!!! I just cannot stop smiling remembering even after three hours....two small stars and the moon like a smile... a proper smiley.I just managed to take some pictures... None of which do the justice to such a beautiful sky...It was a visual feast.
After a few pictures one of the Friends said they were no mere stars they were Jupiter and Venus.. and this was one of the rare events of the decade.Jupiter, Venus, and a sliver of a crescent moon formed a spectacular, tight triangle in the evening sky, near the horizon. They were so tightly packed that I was able to cover them with my thumb at arms length..
Venus is the most impressive.On the right in the pictures, it was brighter. Although it’s 93 million miles from Earth about now, it shines with a brilliance.
View the moon with a slightly averted glance and you’re likely to pick up the dull but noticeable glow of Earth light reflecting off the darkened lunar surface.
the small dot on the left is Jupiter. Jupiter’s brightness isn't great, as we have to remember it some slack. Despite it’s enormous size, it’s currently about 472 million miles away.It is likely to be there for another 44 hours I was told.

After coming home and googling
this was what I found... on the net about yesterday's event
[b]“Look towards the southwest and you will see something very pretty - Venus and Jupiter beaming together through the twilight. The two closely-spaced planets are about to be joined by the slender crescent Moon for a spectacular three-way conjunction,” Nehru Planetarium director N. Rathnashree told IANS.
The three brightest objects in the night sky will be gathered so tightly together that you can hide them all behind your thumb held at arm’s length.
The Nehru Planetarium will put out telescopes at Old Fort in the capital.
“Although clear to the naked eye, a small telescope will make the evening even more enjoyable. We will be putting up some telescopes at Old Fort in the evening for people to have a clearer look of the celestial triangle,” Rathnashree said.
“It is a rare activity. The winter sky is very clear and you can have a spectacular look of the celestial activity,” said Ajay Talwar, a member of the Amateur Astronomer Association.
The celestial triangle will be visible from all parts of the world, even from lightly polluted cities.[/b]

I was fortunate enough to witness. A moment of the lifetime , may be it isn't as rare a phenomenon as I think, but I have not seen anything like this... so I feel..blessed really!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have managed to load some pictures for memory and for those who have not been able to witness.

Have a great week ahead..