I SAW THE SMILEY FACE MOON YESTERDAY! =P

Smiley face makes encore performance

• Bridie Smith
• December 2, 2008 - 10:51AM

The face in the sky smiles down on Melbourne. The photograph was taken in Eltham, by a reader. Photo: Tom Richards

Stargazers who missed the celestial smiley face in last night's sky will be able to catch a glimpse this evening, as one of the year's best sky shows returns for an encore screening.

- Moon, planets, smile on city
- A rare treat: Astronomers
- A Christmas star, some believe

According to local astronomers who gathered armed with telescopes at St Kilda's marina last night, the sight of Venus, Jupiter and the crescent Moon sitting side by side in the twilight sky is a rare treat.

"In 2BC, Saturn, Venus and Mars were all close together in the western sky after sunset - much the same way that Saturn and Venus are close together at this time," Astronomical Society of Victoria president Perry Vlahos said.

Legend has it that in biblical times, a similar but closer pairing may have been mistaken for the 'Christmas star' by the three wise men seeking the birthplace of Jesus.

"Some people have put forward the idea that this may have been the Christmas star ... but I'm not that way inclined," Mr Vlahos said.

The smiley face - composed by the placement of Venus, Jupiter and the slender crescent of the Moon - will be visible to the naked eye between sunset and about 11pm.

However, Mr Vlahos said tonight's moon will have moved further to the right of the planets and may appear more like a frown.

But he said the spectacle would be hard to miss. Apart from the moon, Venus and Jupiter are the two brightest objects in the night sky.

"We've got the top three brightest objects in the night sky being visible together in a small area of sky," he said. "It'll be pretty spectacular."

Telescopes will reveal greater detail, including craters in the moon's surface and the moons of Jupiter, which were first discovered by the father of modern observational astronomy, Italian Galileo Galilei, in 1610.

Venus and Jupiter will be just over two degrees apart tonight, while the moon will be eight degrees away from the planets.

Mr Vlahos said those with a keen eye might also be able to spot what is known as Earthshine - the ghostly outline of the full moon inside the bright crescent. This is caused by the earth reflecting sunlight onto the moon's darker side.