天文奇觀：正月初五木星合月耀天際

Last month, a cloudless sky let stargazers witness an attractive pairing between the crescent moon and Jupiter. The moon has now started a new cycle of phases and is passing Jupiter again as it tracks away from the sunset through the ecliptic and zodiac.

Tonight, stargazers can see the 4-day-old waxing crescent sitting about 10 degrees above Jupiter in the south-southwestern sky at 7.

You may notice when you look for this eye-catching pairing tonight that Jupiter is closer to the horizon than it was in January. Last month, Jupiter was sitting about 40 degrees above the horizon at 7 p.m. during its pairing with the moon. Tonight, the Jovian Giant will only sit about 25 degrees above the horizon.

Over the next two months, Jupiter will continue to sink lower and set earlier each evening. One month from tonight, stargazers will find Jupiter sitting only 10 degrees above the western horizon in evening twilight when it's passed by a 3-day-old crescent moon.

據新華社電 春節長假木星最閃亮。中科院紫金山天文臺研究員王思潮向記者通報，7日天宇將上演木星合月的奇特天象，屆時如果天氣晴朗，公衆可觀賞到木星與彎月近距離接觸的美妙場景。

王思潮介紹，行星和月亮正好運行到同一經度上，兩者距離達到最近，這一天象叫行星合月。一年中行星合月的現象會發生幾十次，但“木星合月”是其中觀賞效果比較好的。

在太陽系八大行星中，木星的體積和質量都是最大。它的質量是其他七大行星總和的2.5倍多，是地球的318倍。按照與太陽的距離由近到遠排，木星位列第五。

王思潮介紹，在天氣晴好的條件下，7日夜幕降臨時分，初五的娥眉月將如小船般飄蕩在天幕之上，彎月右上方不遠處，木星猶如月亮船上拋下的一顆明珠，閃閃發光。兩者近距離接觸，爲公衆奉獻一幕精彩的“星月童話”。有條件的公衆還可嘗試藉助於中長焦鏡頭，將這出木星合月的好戲拍攝下來。