Planet slip and slide

Image Credit: Hubblesite.org, NASA, ESA, H. Weaver (JHU/APL), A. Stern (SwRI), and the HST Pluto Companion Search TeamThere’s much to see in the night sky this week as planets slip and slide beneath each other. Mars was sliding underneath Saturn last week while Venus remained, but now Venus will slide underneath these planets. They will create what looks like an Isosceles triangle, which is called a conjunction.These alignments come and go, but we are particularly lucky in the Northern hemisphere  to be able to see this conjunction of planets. Also, don’t miss the star Vega, which is almost at the zenith point right above our heads. This and more on this week’s Sky Talk.[audio: st20100802.mp3]