Venus and Moon meet up in spectacular encounter

Venus and moon shared a dazzling celestial meet-up that wowed stargazers around the world Sunday evening (Sept. 8).Skywatchers snapped photos and at least one time-lapse video of Venus and the moon as the pair shined together in the night sky.

Venus and the moon shared what astronomers call a "conjunction," when two celestial objects appear near each other when viewed from Earth. The Venus-moon sight occurred about 45 minutes after sunset on Sunday in what was their closest encounter of the northern summer, fall or winter.

Some observers got a particularly special cosmic treat. From certain locations on Earth, the moon appeeared to hide Venus it passed between Earth and the more distant planet in what scientists call an "occultation." Although the unique sight couldn't be seen around the world, some stargazers in the Southern Hemisphere also got an incredible view of the conjunction.

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