Incredible photos show Venus dazzling above Greater Manchester in a Moon-planet alignment. Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter formed a planet parade alongside the crescent Moon this week.
Celestial Event Captured in Salford
Sky watchers in Greater Manchester captured a stunning Moon-planet alignment in the evening sky last night as Venus made a close approach with the crescent Moon. Thomas Barlow from Swinton in Salford witnessed the dazzling planet parade from his garden on Wednesday evening (June 17), shortly before the England World Cup game.
The dad-of-four said he spotted a bright object glowing next to the Moon, which grabbed his attention because he said it was "strange" that there were no other stars in the sky. This is because it wasn't a star, but Venus, the brightest planet in the night sky. This week, Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter formed a planet parade with the thin crescent Moon in the early evening sky.
Occultation and Close Meeting
For some lucky stargazers in North America, Venus temporarily disappeared behind the Moon in a rare celestial event called an occultation. However, in the UK, this was simply a close meeting of Venus and the crescent Moon.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News about the celestial event, Thomas said: "I only heard about it [the alignment] on TikTok afterwards because I thought it was a bit strange. I saw there was Jupiter too - a line of them."
"I was out in the garden with the kids getting ready for England. We nipped out for a bit of fresh air…and saw it, but there were no other stars in the sky, so we were all like, 'what's that?' It was hovering above the Moon. We were waiting for it to go inside the Moon so it would look like the Turkey flag. It was cool. The kids were loving it."
Avid Stargazer
Thomas has been an avid stargazer for around a year, after a holiday sparked his interest in the night sky. He said: "I only got interested in looking at the sky recently because we were in Tenerife last year and the sky was just full of stars. I've never seen anything like it. From that point forward I always give it a little look and see what's there."
Chance to Spot Again
For those that missed the planet parade, there is a chance to spot Venus again tonight (June 18). While the planet won't be as close to the Moon as last night, it may still be visible on the western horizon, forming another alignment with Jupiter and Mercury.
