Sublime Venus-moon alignment seen Sunday night

Village elders believe it tells of lovers eloping, or a pregnant woman being married. Either way, the alignment of Venus and the moon on a fine Sunday night as seen in the country was one majestic sight. On that night, Venus joined the crescent moon, its bottom part illuminated with a bright lining a few days after the new moon phase.

Space.com adds that right between the Venus and the moon are the star cluster Messier 35, which will only be visible in fine weather and with the aid of binoculars. An article on the Website further explained that this means Venus is gradually coming closer to the Earth, estimated this week to be 1.4 astronomical units (about 130 million miles) away. On August 20, it will be farthest from the sun and just 0.7 astronomical units away from the Earth, as it quickly passes between the sun and the Earth to move into the morning sky. The next time Venus passes between the sun and the Earth, the article said, will be on June 5, 2012, when it will pass directly in front of the sun as seen from the Earth in what is called a transit. The last time the transit occurred was in 2004, and the next will be in 2117, making June 5, 2012 event the last chance for all of us to see the grand transit of Venus in our lifetimes. - Jerrie Abella/KBK/HS, GMANews.TV