Venus Archives

January 21, 2014December 23, 2015 by David Dickinson

An Incredible Time-lapse of Venus Passing Through Inferior Conjunction

Some of the most amazing celestial sights are hidden from our view in the daytime sky. Or are they? We recently challenged readers to try and follow the planet Venus through inferior conjunction as it passed between the Earth and the Sun on January 11^th. Unlike the previous pass on June 6^th, 2012 when Venus made its last transit of the Sun for the 21^st century, the 2014 solar conjunction offered an outstanding chance to trace Venus’s path just five degrees from the Sun from the dusk and into the dawn sky.

Expert astrophotographers Shahrin Ahmad based in Sri Damansara, Malaysia and Paul Stewart observing from New Zealand took up that daily challenge as Venus neared the limb of the Sun, with amazing results. Now, Shahrin has also produced an amazing time-lapse sequence of Venus passing through inferior conjunction.

You can actually see the illuminated “horns” of Venus as they thin, extend, and rotate around the limb as the planet passes the Sun.

And it’s what’s more incredible is that the capture was completed in the daytime. But such a feat isn’t for the unskilled. Shahrin told Universe Today of the special safety precautions he had to take to acquire Venus so close to the Sun:

“Since Venus was getting closer each day towards conjunction, I found it far too dangerous to find visually, either using the main telescope or the finderscope.”

Instead, Shahrin relies on computerized software named Cartes du Ciel to drive his Skywatcher EQ6 mount and pinpoint Venus in the daytime sky.

“The sky in Kuala Lumpur is never clear from here, thus it rarely appears dark blue, making it almost impossible to spot Venus visually, especially when it is less than 10 degrees from the Sun.”

Shahrin elaborated further on his special solar safety precautions:

“I always start with all covers in place and the solar filter on the main telescope. I will slew the telescope to the Sun, make some slight repositioning adjustments, and then synchronize the telescope to the new position. After ensuring the Sun is visible and centered on the computer screen, I slew to Venus. Once the mount has stopped in position, I remove the solar filter and replace it with a makeshift cardboard extender mounted on the existing dew-shield. This ensures that any direct sunlight is totally blocked from entering the optics.”

Shahrin notes that 90% of the time, Venus with appear on the computer screen after aligning. Otherwise, a brief spiral search of the field will slide it into view.

Shahrin observes from his ShahGazer Observatory, a roll-off-roof observatory just outside of Kuala Lumpur. He used the Skywatcher 120ED refractor pictured for the captures, with a 2x Barlow lens to achieve a focal length of 1800mm. Shahrin’s main camera is a QHY CCD IMG132e, and the rig is mounted on a Skywatcher EQ6.

A closeup of Sharin’s barlow and camera rig. Credit: Shahrin Ahmad.

“The experience of being able to track Venus approaching inferior conjunction over the Sun afterwards is exhilarating,” Shahrin told Universe Today. “It felt like watching and waiting for a total eclipse of the Sun, but in slow motion!”

Shahrin also counts himself lucky to have had a string of clear days leading up to and after inferior conjunction.

Shahrin’s capture of Venus 5 degrees from the Sun just 8 hours before inferior conjunction may also be a record. That’s a closer apparent separation than our visual sighting of Venus 7 hours and 45 minutes after inferior conjunction on January 16th 1998 as seen from North Pole Alaska, when the planet passed 5.5 degrees from the limb of the Sun.

“I’ve also noticed that in some of the photos, we can see a slight ‘glint’ of sunshine on part of Venus’ atmosphere,” Shahrin noted to Universe Today. “(This sighting) was actually confirmed by the RASC Edmonton Centre in Canada via their Twitter feed.”

An amazing capture, indeed. Venus is now back in the realm of visibility for us mere mortal backyard observers low in the dawn sky, shining at a brilliant magnitude -4.3. Expect it to vault up in a hurry for northern hemisphere observers as the favorable angle of the ecliptic will give it a boost in the dawn. Venus is also headed towards a spectacular 0.2 degree conjunction with Jupiter this summer on August 18th: expect UFO sightings to rise correspondingly. The Indian Army even briefly mistook the pair for Chinese spy drones early last year.

The waning crescent Moon approaches Venus on the morning of January 28th, 2014. Created using Stellarium.

Venus will spend most of 2014 in the dawn sky and is headed for superior conjunction on October 25^th, 2014. Venus spent a similar span in the dawn for the majority 2006, and will do so again in 2022. It’s all part of the 8-year cycle of Venus, a span over which apparitions of the planet roughly repeat. And the next shot we’ll have at inferior conjunction? That’ll be on August 15^th, 2015 for favoring the southern hemisphere and March 25^th, 2017 once again favoring the northern, when the planet very nearly passes as far from the Sun as it can appear at inferior conjunction at 8 degrees.

Congrats to Shahrin on his amazing capture!

-Follow the stargazing adventures of Sharin Ahmad on Google+ and as @shahgazer on Twitter

-Got pictures of Venus? Send ‘em in to Universe Today.

January 12, 2014December 23, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Astrophotos: Venus at Inferior Conjunction

Venus, 0.4% illuminated and 5.1 degrees from the Sun, as seen about 12:30 pm local noon time from Sri Damansara, Malaysia (0430 UTC) on January 11, 2014, about about 8 hours before inferior conjunction. Credit and copyright: Shahrin Ahmad.

Venus has now gone from being that bright “star” you’ve been seeing around sunset to later this month being the bright object you’ll see in the early morning pre-dawn hours. On January 11, Venus passed between Earth and the Sun in what is known as inferior conjunction. We challenged our readers to try and capture it, and Shahrin Ahmad in Malaysia nabbed the tiny crescent Venus about 8 hours before inferior conjunction, in what he said was a personal record!

“Around 12.30 p.m. local noon time, there was a brief of good seeing, and probably the best one so far,” Shah said via email. “Suits nicely as a parting shot. After that the sky seeing began to deteriorate really fast!”

Venus was about 0.4% illuminated and 5.1 deg from the Sun.

“Even without stretching the original photo, we can easily see how the crescent has reach beyond 180 degrees around Venus,” he said. “This is the closest Venus I’ve ever imaged.”

You can see Shah (and his telescope) on the Virtual Star Party this week, talking about his Venus observations.

But take a look at this: here’s a great series of images from Paul Stewart from Timaru, New Zealand:

Venus inferior conjunction timeline from January 7 to 13th, missing January 12 due to clouds. Credit and copyright: Paul Stewart.

Wow! That’s exceptional work! You can see more of Paul’s astro-work at his website, Upside Down Astronomer.

Thanks to both Shah and Paul for sharing their photos!

Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Flickr group or send us your images by email (this means you’re giving us permission to post them). Please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, etc.

January 6, 2014December 23, 2015 by David Dickinson

Astro-Challenge: Nabbing Venus… at Inferior Conjunction

Venus as seen on the morning of inferior conjunction January 11th from Rekyavik, Iceland. Created by the author using Stellarium

Residents of high northern latitudes can take heart this frigid January: this coming weekend offers a chance to replicate a unique astronomical sighting.

Veteran sky watcher Bob King recently wrote a post for Universe Today describing what observers can expect from the planet Venus for the last few weeks of this current evening apparition leading up to Venus’s passage between the Earth and the Sun on January 11^th. Like so many other readers, we’ve been holding a nightly vigil to see when the last date will be that we can spot the fleeing world… and some great pics have been pouring in.

But did you know that when the conditions are just right, that you can actually spy Venus at the moment of inferior conjunction?

No, we’re not talking about a rare transit of Venus as last occurred on June 6^th, 2012, when Venus crossed the disk of the Sun as seen from our Earthly perspective… you’ll have to wait until 2117 to see that occur again. What we’re talking about is a passage of Venus high above or below the solar disk, when spying it while the Sun sits just below the horizon might just be possible.

The disk of Venus at inferior conjunction. Simulation created by the author using Starry Night. — The disk of Venus at inferior conjunction. Simulation created by the author using Stellarium.

Not all inferior conjunctions of Venus are created equal. The planet’s orbit is tilted 3 degrees with respect to our own and can thus pass a maximum of eight degrees north or south of the Sun. Venus last did this on inferior conjunction in 2009 and will once again pass a maximum distance north of the Sun in 2017. For the southern hemisphere, the red letter years are 2007, and next year in 2015.

You’ll note that the above periods mark out an 8-year cycle, a period after which a roughly similar apparition of the planet Venus repeats. This is because Venus takes just over 224 days to complete one orbit, and 13 orbits of Venus very nearly equals 8 Earth years.

And while said northern maximum is still three years away, this week’s inferior conjunction is close at five degrees from the solar limb. The best prospects to see Venus at or near inferior conjunction occur for observers “North of the 60”. We accomplished this feat two Venusian 8-year cycles ago during the inferior conjunction of January 16^th, 1998 from latitude 65 degrees north just outside of Fairbanks, Alaska. We set up on the Chena Flood Channel, assuring as low and as flat a horizon as possible… and we kept the engine of our trusty Jeep Wrangler idling as a refuge from the -40 degrees Celsius temperatures!

A daytime Venus just over five days from inferior conjunction. Credit — A 1.3% illuminated daytime Venus just over five days from inferior conjunction. Credit Shahrin Ahmad www.shahgazer.net

It took us several frigid minutes of sweeping the horizon with binoculars before we could pick up the dusky dot of Venus through the low atmospheric murk and pervasive ice fog. We could just glimpse Venus unaided afterward, once we knew exactly where to look!

This works because the ecliptic is at a relatively shallow enough angle to the horizon as seen from the high Arctic that Venus gets its maximum ~five degree “boost” above the horizon.

A word of warning is also in order not to attempt this sighting while the dazzling (and potentially eye damaging) Sun is above the horizon. Start sweeping the horizon for Venus about 30 minutes before local sunrise, with the limb of the Sun safely below the horizon.

Venus presents a disk 1’ 02” across as seen from Earth during inferior conjunction, the largest of any planet and the only one that can appear larger than an arc minute in size. Ironically, both Venus and Earth reach perihelion this month. Said disk is, however, only 0.4% illuminated and very near the theoretical edge of visibility known as the Danjon Limit. And although the technical visual magnitude of Venus at inferior conjunction is listed as -3.1, expect that illumination scattered across that razor thin crescent to be more like magnitude -0.6 due to atmospheric extinction.

The mid-January passage of Venus through the field of view of SOHO's LASCO C3 imager. Field orientation is set for January 7th. Created using Starry Nite Software. — The mid-January passage of Venus through the field of view of SOHO’s LASCO C3 imager. Field orientation is set for January 7th. Created using Starry Nite Software.

Are you one of the +99% of the world’s citizens that doesn’t live in the high Arctic? You can still watch the passage of Venus from the relative warmth of your home online, via the Solar Heliospheric Observatory’s (SOHO) vantage point in space. SOHO sits at the sunward L1 point between the Earth and the Sun and has been monitoring Sol with a battery on instruments ever since its launch in 1995. A great side benefit of this is that SOHO also catches sight of planets and the occasional comet that strays near the Sun in its LASCO C2 and C3 cameras. Venus will begin entering the 15 degree wide field of view for SOHO’s LASCO C3 camera on January 7th, and you’ll be able to trace it all the way back out until January 14th.

Venus post solar transit as seen in SOHO's LASCO C3 imager. Credit-ESA/NASA — Venus post solar transit as seen in SOHO’s LASCO C3 imager. Credit-ESA/NASA

From there on out, Venus will enter the early morning sky. When is the first date that you can catch it from your latitude with binoculars and /or the naked eye? Venus spends most of the remainder of 2014 in the dawn, reaching greatest elongation 46.6 degrees west of the Sun on March 22^nd, 2014 and is headed back towards superior conjunction on the farside of the Sun on October 25^th, 2014. But there’s lots more Venusian action in 2014 in store…. more to come!

January 2, 2014December 23, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Gorgeous Astrophoto: Twin Crescents of the Moon and Venus at Sunset

The Moon and Venus, both in crescent phase, as seen from Sulmona, Abruzzo, Italy on January 2, 2014. Credit and copyright: Giuseppe Petricca.

2014 starts out with sunset view of a new Moon and a fading look at Venus, both captured together in this gorgeous image from astrophotographer Giuseppe Petricca.

“A wonderful sunset conjunction this evening from Central Italy,” Giuseppe wrote via email. “The Moon and Venus were both crescent, in an awesome sight! Some clouds entered the scene, and helped me filter the bright light of the ‘evening star’, revealing the little arch of the planet, from our point of view.” He added that this is “the youngest Moon I’ve ever captured, about 2% lit.”

Below is an image with an inset of Venus enlarged for a better view:

The Moon and Venus, both in crescent phase, as seen from Sulmona, Abruzzo, Italy on January 2, 2014. Inset shows Venus enlarged. Credit and copyright: Giuseppe Petricca.

As our writer Bob King noted in his recent article, catch Venus now while you can, as it is slipping away: “As 2013 gives way to the new year, Venus winds up its evening presentation as it prepares to transition to the morning sky. Catch it while you can. Each passing night sees the planet dropping ever closer to the horizon as its apparent distance from the sun shrinks. On January 11 it will pass through inferior conjunction as it glides between Earth and Sun.”

Giuseppe’s images were taken with a simple non-reflex camera on a tripod, Nikon P90, ISO 100, f5.0, 1/2 exposure, which he says demonstrates “that with a little effort, you don’t need an expensive digicam to take this kind of shot.”

Beautiful!

January 2, 2014December 23, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Astrophoto: Crescent Venus in the Afternoon

Venus visible in the daytime skies over Kuala Lumpur on January 2, 2014. Credit and copyright: Shahrin Ahmad.

In December, we challenged our readers to try and see Venus during the daytime. Sharin Ahmad from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia started off the new year by nailing this awesome picture of a crescent Venus at just after noon local time today (January 2, 2014). “The usual cloudy Kuala Lumpur sky is teasing me again, giving me crystal blue sky today!” Shahrin said via email.

Based on SkySafari, Venus was about 3.2% illuminated, and about 15 degrees from Sun.

Equipment: Skywatcher 120ED (F=1800mm), and IMG132E video camera.

Here are other recent images of Venus submitted to our Flickr page by our readers:

Crescent Venus on Dec. 31, 2013, seen from Arizona. Credit and copyright: Robert Sparks.

The color of Venus: Three images of Venus taken on January 1, 2014. Credit and copyright: Sergei Golyshev .

December 27, 2013December 23, 2015 by Bob King

Venus Slip-Slides Away – Catch it While You Can!

Venus reflected in the Pacific Ocean late this fall seen from the island of Maui, Hawaii. The planet is now quickly dropping toward the sun. Credit: Bob King

I put down down the snow shovel to give my back a rest yesterday evening and couldn’t believe what I saw. Or didn’t see. Where was Venus? I looked to the south above the tree line and the goddess was gone! Sweeping my gaze to the right I found her again much closer to the western horizon point and also much lower.

As Venus revolves around the sun interior to the Earth's orbit, we see it pass through phases just like the moon. Tonight it's still to the east of the sun (left side) and visible in the evening sky. On Jan. 11 it passes through conjunction and then appears on the other side of the sun in the morning sky. Illustration: Bob King — As Venus revolves around the sun interior to Earth’s orbit, we see it pass through phases just like the moon. Tonight it’s still to the east of the sun (left side) and visible in the evening sky. On Jan. 11 it passes through conjunction and then appears on the other side of the sun in the morning sky. Illustration: Bob King

As 2013 gives way to the new year, Venus winds up its evening presentation as it prepares to transition to the morning sky. Catch it while you can. Each passing night sees the planet dropping ever closer to the horizon as its apparent distance from the sun shrinks. On January 11 it will pass through inferior conjunction as it glides between Earth and sun. Come the 12th, Venus nudges into the dawn sky – don’t expect to see it with the naked eye until around midmonth, when it’s far enough from the sun to bust through the twilight glare.

Phases of Venus during 2004 photographed through a telescope. When very close to inferior conjunction (bottom right) the crescent is seen to extend fully around the planet. Credit: Statis Kalyva / Wikipedia

Though the planet is departing, don’t let it disappear without at least a glance through binoculars. As conjunction approaches, Venus gets as close (and as large) as it can get to Earth and displays a most attractive crescent phase. Even 7x binoculars will show its thinning sickle shortly at dusk. Tonight (Dec. 27) Venus measures nearly 1 arc minute in diameter or 1/30 the width of the full moon and shines brightly at magnitude -4.5.

Venus is only about 12 degrees high in the southwestern sky some 20 minutes after sunset this evening Dec. 27. Stellarium

As the planet drops ever lower, the crescent grows both larger and thinner. A few days before conjunction, a telescope will show it extending beyond the usual 180-degree arc as sunlight beaming from behind Venus is scattered by the planet’s thick cloudy atmosphere.

When the air is transparent and seeing steady, amateur astronomers have photographed and observed the crescent wrapping a full 360 degrees around the planet’s disk – a sight quite unlike anything else in the sky.

Before Venus departs the evening sky watch for it to pair up with a very thin crescent moon shortly after sunset on Jan. 2, 2014. Stellarium — Before Venus departs the evening sky, watch for it to pair up with a very thin crescent moon shortly after sunset on Jan. 2, 2014. Stellarium

In the coming week, watch for Venus starting about 15 minutes after sunset low in the southwestern sky. With each day, the planet becomes slightly less conspicuous as it competes against the twilight glow.

After final farewells late next week, we’ll look forward in the new year to welcoming the goddess in her new guise as morning star.

December 3, 2013December 23, 2015 by David Dickinson

Now is a Great Time to Try Seeing Venus in the Daytime Sky

Venus (arrowed) imaged near the waning crescent Moon on August 13th, 2012. (Photo by author).

Here’s a feat of visual athletics to amaze your friends with this week. During your daily routine, you may have noticed the daytime Moon hanging against the azure blue sky. But did you know that, with careful practice and a little planning, you can see Venus in the broad daylight as well?

This week offers a great chance to try, using the daytime Moon as a guide. We recently wrote about the unique circumstances of this season’s evening apparition of the planet Venus. On Friday, December 6^th, Venus will reach a maximum brilliancy of magnitude -4.7, over 16 times brighter than Sirius, the brightest star in the sky. And just one evening prior on Thursday December 5^th, the 3-day old crescent Moon passes eight degrees above it, slightly closer together than the span of your palm held at arm’s length.

The orientation of Venus and the Moon on Thursday, December 5th as it crosses the local meridian at 3PM EST. Created using Starry Night Education software.

The Moon will thus make an excellent guide to spot Venus in the broad daylight. It’s even possible to nab the pair with a camera, if you can gauge the sky conditions and tweak the manual settings of your DSLR just right.

The best time to attempt this feat on Thursday will be when the pair transits the local meridian due south of your location. Deep in the southern hemisphere, the Moon and Venus will appear to transit to the north. This occurs right around 3:00 PM local. The fingernail Moon will be easy to spot, then simply begin scanning the sky to the south of it with the naked eye or binoculars for the brilliant diamond of Venus. High contrast and blocking the Sun out of view is key — Venus will easily pop right out against a clear deep blue sky, but it may disappear all together against a washed out white background.

The Moon will be at a 10% illuminated phase on Thursday, while Venus presents a slimming crescent at 27% illumination. Though tougher to find, Venus is actually brighter than the Moon in terms of albedo… expand it up to the apparent size of a Full Moon and it would be over four times as bright!

Church and Venus as seen from Westgate River Ranch, Florida. Photo by author.

You’ll be amazed what an easy catch Venus is in the daytime once you’ve spotted it — we’ve included views of Venus in the daytime when visible during sidewalk star parties for years.

Due to its brilliancy, Venus has also been implicated in more UFO sightings than any other planet, and even caused the Indian Army to mistake the pair for snooping Chinese drones earlier this year when it was in conjunction with the planet Jupiter. A daytime sighting of the planet Venus near the Moon was almost certainly the “curious star” reported by startled villagers observing from Saint-Denis, France on January 13^th, 1589.

Venus can also cast a noticeable shadow near greatest brilliancy, an effect that can be discerned against a fresh snow-covered landscape. Can’t see it? Take a time exposure shot of the ground and you may just be able to tease it out… but hurry, as the waxing Moon will soon be dominating the early evening night sky show!

Another phenomenon to watch for this week on the face of the waxing crescent Moon is known as Earthshine. Can you just make out the dark limb of the Moon? This is caused by the Earth acting as a “mirror” reflecting sunlight back at the nighttime side of the Moon. And don’t forget, China’s Chang’e-3 lander plus rover will be landing on the lunar surface in the Sinus Iridum region later this month on December 14^th, the first lunar soft landing since 1976!

The imaginary line of the ecliptic currently bisects the Moon and Venus, as Venus sits at an extreme southern point 2.5 degrees below the ecliptic — in fact, 2013 the farthest south it’s been since 1930 — and the Moon sits over four degrees above the ecliptic this week. The Moon also reached another notable point today, as it reached its most northern “southerly point” for 2013 at a declination of -19.6 degrees. The Moon’s apparent path is headed for a “shallow year” in 2015, after which it’ll begin to slowly widen over its 18.6 year cycle out to a maximum declination range in 2024. It’s a weird but true fact that the motion of the Moon is not fixed to the Earth’s equatorial plane, but to the path of our orbit traced out by the ecliptic, to which its orbit is tilted an average of five degrees.

The view looking west tonight from latitude 30 degrees north. Created using Stellarium.

And speaking of the Moon, there’s another fun naked-eye feat you can attempt tonight. At dusk, U.S. East Coast observers might just be able to pick up the razor thin crescent Moon hanging low to the West, only 23 hours past New. Begin scanning the western horizon about 10 minutes after sunset. Can you see it with binoculars? The naked eye? Chances get better for sighting the slim crescent Moon the farther west you go. North American observers will have a chance at a “personal best” during next lunation in the first few days of 2014… more to come!

Be sure to send those Venus-Moon conjunction pics in to Universe Today!

November 6, 2013December 23, 2015 by David Dickinson

Bright Venus Takes Center Stage in November

(Credit: Brian McGaffney/Nutwood Observatory).

“What’s that bright object to the southwest at dusk?” We’ve already fielded more than a few such questions as Earth’s sister world shines in the dusk sky. Venus just passed its maximum elongation 47 degrees east of the Sun on November 1^st, and currently shines at a brilliant magnitude -4.46. This is almost 16 times brighter than the brightest star in the sky, -1.46th magnitude Sirius.

Venus and the waxing crescent Moon, looking to the west tonite at 30 minutes after sunset for latitude 30 degrees north. (Created using Stellarium).

Just like the Moon, Venus goes through a full range of phases. Through the telescope, Venus currently presents a 26.7” diameter disk. That size will swell to almost 40” by month’s end, as Venus begins to approach the Earth and presents a noticeable crescent phase. We just passed dichotomy — the theoretical point where Venus presents a half-illuminated phase as seen from Earth — on October 31^st, and Venus already shows a noticeable crescent:

Venus on the night of November 5th 2013, a quick stack of about 200 frames. (Photo by Author)

Note that we say “theoretical” because there’s typically a discrepancy of a day or two between predicted and observed dichotomy. This is also known as Schröter’s Effect. One probable cause for this is the dazzling appearance of the disk of Venus. We typically use a variable polarizing filter to cut the glare of Venus down at the eyepiece.

You might also note that Venus currently occupies the “basement” of the zodiac in the constellation Sagittarius. In fact, the planet is currently as far south as it can go, sitting at a declination of -27° 14’ on this very evening. You have to go all the way back to 1930 to find a more southerly declination of Venus, just 12’ lower!

But you won’t have to wait much longer to break that record, as the chart below shows for the most southerly declinations of Venus for the next half century:

Year	Date	Declination
2013	November 6^th	-27° 09’
2021	“ “	-27° 14’
2029	“ “	-27° 18’
2037	“ “	-27° 23’
2045	“ “	-27° 29’
2053	“ “	-27° 34’
2061	“ “	-27° 39’

Note that each event occurs on November 6^th, and they’re spaced 8 years apart. Apparitions of Venus closely duplicate their paths in the sky over an 8 year cycle. This is because the planet nearly completes 13 orbits of the Sun for our 8. Venus “catches up” to the Earth on its interior orbit once every 584 days to reach inferior conjunction. It usually passes above or below the Sun from our vantage point, though last year it transited, a feat that won’t be witnessed again until 2117 AD.

How far south can Venus go? Well, its orbit is tilted 3.4 degrees relative to the ecliptic. It can reach a southern declination of -28 05’, though you have to go way back to 1874 for its last occurrence!

Today is also a great time to try your hand at spotting Venus in the daytime, as a 3-day old waxing crescent Moon lies about eight degrees to its upper right:

A daytime Venus near the Moon transiting to the south at about 3:30PM EST today. A 5 degree wide Telrad "bullseye" is provided for scale. (Credit: Stellarium). — A daytime Venus near the Moon, transiting to the south at about 3:30PM EST today. A 5 degree wide Telrad “bullseye” is provided for scale. (Credit: Stellarium).

Note that seeing Venus in the daytime is surprisingly easy, once you known exactly where to look for it. Your best chances are around mid-afternoon at about 3PM local, when the daytime Moon and Venus lie highest in the southern sky. Did you know that Venus is actually intrinsically brighter per square arc second than the Moon? It’s true! The Moon actually has a very low reflective albedo of 12% — about the equivalent of fresh asphalt — while the cloud tops of Venus are more akin the fresh snow with an albedo of about 80%.

Its also worth checking out Venus and its local environs after nightfall as it passes near the Lagoon (M8) and the Trifid nebula (M8) on the night of November 6^th. Continuing with its trek across the star rich plane of the heart of the Milky Way galaxy, Venus also passes near the globular cluster M22 on November 13^th.

Venus also sits in the general of Pluto on November 15^th, lying just 6.6 degrees south of it. Be sure to wave in the general direction of NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft bound for Pluto in July 2015 tonight as well, using the Moon and Venus for a guide:

The position of the Moon, Venus, Pluto, & New Horizons on the night of November 6th, 2013. (Created using Starry Night Education Software). — The position of the Moon, Venus, Pluto, & New Horizons at 14UT on November 7th, 2013. (Created using Starry Night Education Software).

Another shot at seeing Venus paired with the Moon occurs on December 5^th.

Venus also presents a maximum area of illumination on December 6^th, and will shine at its brightest on December 10^th at magnitude -4.7. Can you catch it casting a shadow? The best time to search for this illusive phenomenon would be just before New Moon on December 2^nd. A dark sky site away from any other sources of illumination, and a snow covered ground providing high contrast also helps. Fortunately, snow isn’t in short supply in the northern hemisphere in December!

Venus is currently the only naked eye planet in the November early evening sky. We always thought that it’s a bit of a cosmic irony that the nearest planet presents a dazzling, but featureless white disk as seen from Earth. Diligent amateurs have, however, been able to tease out cloud patterns on Venus using UV filters.

Another elusive phenomenon to watch for as Venus reaches a crescent phase is ashen light. Long reported by observers, a faint glow on the night side of Venus is something that persists, but shouldn’t be. A similar effect seen on the night side of the Moon known as Earthshine is easily explained by sunlight being reflected off of the Earth… but Venus has no moon. What gives? Frequent explanations over the years have been aurorae, electrical activity, airglow, or, more frequently cited, observer bias. The brain wants to see a filled in space, and promptly inserts it betwixt the dazzling horns of the planet.

Keep an eye on Venus as it reaches maximum brilliancy and heads towards inferior conjunction on January 11^th, 2014, and a rare chance to see it on said date… more to come!

September 9, 2013December 23, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Astrophotos: The Smiley Face Moon and Companions in the Sky

The crescent Moon and Venus as seen from São Paulo, Brazil on September 8, 2013. Credit and copyright: Ednilson Oliveira

Did you notice a bright “star” close to the Moon last night (September 8, 2013)? People around the world had the treat of seeing the waxing crescent Moon have the planet Venus snuggle up close… or in some places, the Moon actually passed in front of Venus, in what is known as an occultation. Also, on Saturday, the bright star Spica added to the scene.

Thanks to our readers from around the world for sharing their images and videos!

Moon and Venus conjunction over the Eternal Flame of the 9/11 Memorial located here in San Antonio, Texas. Credit and copyright: Adrian New. — Moon and Venus conjunction
over the Eternal Flame of the 9/11 Memorial located here in San Antonio, Texas. Credit and copyright: Adrian New.

The Moon and Venus on September 8, 2013. Credit and copyright: Wes Schulstad.

The waxing crescent Moon near Venus on the evening of Sunday, September 8, 2013, as seen from southern Alberta, Canada. Credit and copyright: Alan Dyer/Amazing Sky Photography.

Here’s a video showing the occultation of Venus by the Moon, photographed by Fabian Gonzalez.

The 12% waxing crescenet Moon and Venus on September 8, 2013 as seen from Shot in Kennesaw, Georgia. Credit and copyright: Stephen Rahn.

The new Moon with Venus on its right. Taken from the dark sky preserve at the Nutwood Observatory in central Ontario, Cananda. Credit and copyright: Brian McGaffney.

A close-up of September's waxing crescent Moon with Venus on September 8, 2013. Credit and copyright: Tavi Greiner. — A close-up of September’s waxing crescent Moon with Venus on September 8, 2013. Credit and copyright: Tavi Greiner.

A calm and peaceful moment on a beautiful beach, with a planetary alignment between planets, Saturn (in the top left corner), Venus and Spica star (in the center image), and the crescent Moon above the horizon, as seen on September 7, 2013. Credit and copyright: Miguel Claro.

Conjunction of Saturn, Venus, and the 2.5 day old Moon on Saturday, September 7, 2013. Spica sneaks into the photo beneath Venus. Taken from Salem, Missouri. Credit and copyright: Joe Shuster, Lake County Astronomical Society.

Video of the occultation of Spica by the Moon on September 7, 2013 from Israel, taken by Gadi Eidelheit. Read more about at his website, VenusTransit.

Beautiful Moon & Venus as seen from Mumbai on 8th September 2013. Credit and copyright: Henna Khan.

The crescent Moon and Venus as seen from central Illinois. Credit: Nancy Atkinson.

September 5, 2013April 26, 2016 by David Dickinson

See Venus and the Moon Together in the Sky on September 8

A close conjunction of Venus and the crescent Moon as seen on February 27th, 2009. (Photo by author).

Sky watchers worldwide are in for a treat Sunday evening September 8, 2013 as the waxing crescent Moon passes near the dazzling planet Venus. And for a select few, the Moon will actually pass in front of Venus, in what is known as an occultation.

The action has already started this week, as the Moon reached New phase earlier today at 7:36 AM EDT/11:36 UT. The appearance of the slim crescent Moon nearest to the September equinox marks the start of the Jewish New Year with the celebration of Rosh Hashanah, which this year began as early as it possibly can at sundown on September 4^th. As per tradition, Rosh Hashanah formally begins when the sky is dark enough for three stars to be seen. The convention established by Hillel II in 363 A.D. uses the mean motion of the Moon to fix the start dates of the Jewish luni-solar calendar, which means that occasionally Rosh Hashanah can start a day early. This also occurred in 2002.

The New Moon has also been historically an opportune time for nighttime military operations to commence —Desert Storm in 1991 and the raid against Bin Laden in 2011 were both conducted under the darkness afforded by the absence of moonlight around a New Moon. It’s yet to be seen if planners looking to conduct airstrikes on Syria are planning on taking advantage of the same conditions to begin operations soon.

Tonight, you can see the +1^st magnitude star Spica less than two degrees away from -4^th magnitude Venus. This places Venus at 100 times brighter than Spica and visible before sunset if you know exactly where to look for it.

The brightest star in the constellation Virgo, Spica is 260 light years distant and on the short list of nearby stars that will eventually go supernova. Fortunately for us, Spica is well outside of the ~100 light year radius “kill zone”.

You might just be able to spy the Moon and the -1st magnitude planet Mercury low to the west at dusk for the first time for this lunation tonight or (more likely) Friday night. This is also a great time to check out LADEE’s future home as it departs for lunar orbit from Wallops Island in Virginia on Friday night.

Hey, LADEE sitting on the pad atop its Minotaur V rocket with the slim crescent Moon in the background at dusk Friday night would be a great money shot, I’m just sayin’…

This weekend will see the Moon increase in illumination and elevation above the western horizon each evening until Spica, Venus, and the waxing crescent Moon fit within a four degree circle on Sunday night. The Moon will be 12% illuminated, while Venus is currently at a gibbous phase and 72% lit.

Looking west from latitude 30 north Sunday night from the US east coast... note that Mercury and Saturn are in the picture as well! (Created by the author in Stellarium). — Looking west from latitude 30 north Sunday night from the US east coast… note that Mercury and Saturn are in the picture as well! (Created by the author in Stellarium).

This will also present a good chance to see Venus during the daytime, using the nearby crescent Moon as a guide. This is a fun thing to try, and no gear is required! Though Venus may seem tough to find against the bright daytime sky, appearances are deceptive. With an albedo of 67% versus the Moon’s average of 14% Venus is actually brighter than the Moon per square arc second of size!

The Moon will also occult Spica on the evening of September 8^th for observers in the Middle East and Europe right around sunset. Spica is one of four bright stars that the Moon can occult in the current epoch, along with Antares, Aldebaran, and Regulus. This is also part of a series of fine occultations of Spica by the Moon ongoing from 2012 to 2014.

Sundown on September 8^th offers a special treat, as the 3-day old Moon passes less than a degree from Venus worldwide. The pair will fit easily into the field of view of binoculars or a telescope at low power and present an outstanding photo op.

And for observers based in Argentina and Chile, the Moon will actually occult Venus. Occultations are grand events, a split-second astronomical event in a universe that seems to usually move at a glacial pace. This particular occultation occurs for South American observers just before & after sunset.

The occultation of Venus by the Moon; the footprint over South America. (Credit: Occult 4.1.0.2).

We witnessed and recorded a similar pairing of Venus and the daytime Moon from the shores of our camp on Saint Froid Lake in northern Maine back in 2007:

Also, keep an eye out for a ghostly phenomenon known as the ashen light on the dark limb of the Moon. Also known as Earthshine, what you’re seeing is the reflection of sunlight off of the Earth illuminating the (cue Pink Floyd) dark side of the Moon. When the Moon is a crescent as seen from the Earth, the Earth is at gibbous phase as seen from the nearside of the Moon. Remember, the lunar farside and darkside are two different things! Earthshine can vary in brightness, based on the amount of cloud and snow cover present or absent on the Earth’s moonward side. My Farmer’s Almanac-consulting grandpappy would call ashen light the “Old Moon in the New Moon’s arms,” and reckon rain was a comin’…

Be sure to check out these astronomical goings on this weekend, and send those pics in to Universe Today!