Triple Conjunction for the 2012 All-Star Telescope Party in Rodeo, New Mexico

It has been a wonderful week of viewing and guests have been out all night, every night, imaging the sky.  Coinciding with the second week of astronomy at the Painted Pony Resort hosted by All-Star Telescope from Canada was a triple conjunction between the moon, Jupiter, and Venus.  As reported by Space.com the conjunction peaks on Saturday and Sunday night with the moon closer to Venus on Saturday and closer to Jupiter on Sunday night.  Below is an image of the conjunction taken from PPR with the conjunction show in relation to Portal Peak and the Chiricahua Mountains.  The moon, the brightest object in the photograph is below and right of Jupiter, while Venus is just below the moon and to the left.  Since there is little flying at night, sky watching is a popular activity in the dark skies over the San Simon Valley.

Triple conjunction over Portal Peak