The conjunction of Venus and the Beehive was a beautiful, if not dazzling, sight seen from the author’s home in Maun, Botswana, a sight that seemed to enhance the visibility of the dim cluster to the naked eye. Credit: Stephen James O’meara
Starting from the end of November during the waning phases of the Moon, and then again at the end of December, one can investigate the possibility of a curious optical phenomenon. It is a bright planet that passes close to a large, diffuse star cluster visible to the naked eye.
On the evening of June 13, 2023, I went out at dusk to observe the conjunction of Venus with the open star cluster Beehive (M44). Shining brightly at magnitude –4.2, Venus sailed within 1° of the cluster. Under a dark sky, the Hive appears to the naked eye as a diffuse fourth-magnitude glow spanning 95′ of sky.
As darkness fell, I could see both Venus and the Hive with direct vision. Not surprisingly, when I looked away at them, the brightness of the Hive seemed to increase (since its light fell on the night-sensitive rods in my eyes), while that of Venus decreased slightly (since its bright light no longer stimulated the view). cone cells sensitive to day). The sensation was one of transference, as if Venus had lent the Hive some of its light. The view made Venus look like a comic book superhero: a bright, glittering superstar with a diffuse cape blowing in the wind.
Then, I noticed a very curious phenomenon: if I extended a finger at arm’s length and blocked the light from Venus, the Hive seemed to darken! It didn’t matter if I was using averted vision or direct vision. The result remained constant. Once again, the very presence of Venus seemed to enhance the glory of the Hive.
The reason could simply be proximity. Anyone who has ever searched for Venus during the day knows how difficult it can be to gaze upon the planet in a vast blue sky. They will also know how easily Venus appears when the Moon is in conjunction with it. The simple explanation is that the proximity of the Moon helps the eye to fix the position of the planet, making it appear brighter and more still than if the Moon were not there.
This point was made clear with another planet on July 14, 2023. I observed a daytime conjunction of Jupiter with the 14% waxing Moon, allowing me to clearly see Jupiter shining at magnitude –2.1 with the naked eye until 10 minutes later. sunrise.
Now, the question that remains is whether the Hive will receive the same light from Mars.
As 2024 draws to a close, Mars will be within 2° of M44 and appear nearly stationary, especially towards the end of November, when the planet will begin its retrograde motion on December 7. The planet will also approach Earth, brightening from magnitude -0.5 in late November to magnitude -1.0 in late December. This is about 16 times dimmer than the magnitude of Venus in June 2023. So even though Mars won’t be as bright or come as close to M44 as Venus in June 2023, the conjunction will be worth investigating.
Prior to my observation of Venus, Mars was conjunct the Beehive on the evenings of June 1 and 2, 2023. But the Red Planet was shining dimly around magnitude 2, more than 600 times dimmer than Venus. Unfortunately I was unable to observe that passage, so I cannot comment on the effect during that event.
However, on the morning of June 6, 2024, first-magnitude Saturn was positioned only about 2.5° from Psi’s visual grouping1 (ψ1), Psi2and Psi3 Aquarii — three stars of 4th and 5th magnitude in an area of sky only 1° apart. With a quick glance, these stars appear blurry, especially with averted viewing, but with direct viewing they resolve. I also experimented with Saturn and the appearance of the stars, and there the effect emerged: the presence of the planet improved the visibility of the three stars.
Will the presence of a bright Mars improve the visibility of the Hive? Will the warm color of the planet diminish the visual effect? I would like to know what you feel, if any, what you feel. Send reports to sjomeara31@gmail.com.
