When you want to see the stars, find someplace dark
Getting together
The year begins with a nice pairing of a 17% crescent Moon and a brilliant Venus just 2° apart before dawn tomorrow on New year’s Day. Jupiter and Mercury are also visible in the glow of sunrise below the pair.
The month of January will feature a clutch of bright planets in the dawn. Mercury will disappear into the sun’s glare to be replaced by Saturn emerging from superior conjunction mid-month, joining Venus and Jupiter.
Tomorrow morning, July 20th, a pretty crescent Moon will be located close to a brilliant Venus. The Moon will be a slim 11% crescent a little over 4° from Venus shining at -4.0 magnitude. The pair will rise about three hours before sunrise a bit before 2am, look for the two above the brightening glow of dawn.
Tomorrow morning, June 20th, a pretty crescent Moon will be located close to a brilliant Venus. The Moon will be a slim 18% crescent a little under 6° from Venus shining at -4.2 magnitude. The pair will rise about three hours before sunrise at about 2am, look for the two above the brightening glow of dawn.
Tomorrow morning, May 22nd, a pretty crescent Moon will be located close to a brilliant Venus. The Moon will be a slim 15% crescent a little over 3° from Venus shining at -4.4 magnitude. The pair will rise about two hours before sunrise at about 3am, look for the two above the brightening glow of dawn.
Tomorrow morning, April 23rd, a pretty crescent Moon will be located close to a brilliant Venus. The Moon will be a slim 12% crescent a little over 7° from Venus shining at -4.3 magnitude. The pair will rise about an hour before sunrise at about 4am, look for the two just above the brightening glow of dawn.
Over the next week Venus will be lost to the Sun’s glare. It is currently about 15° east of the Sun, but getting closer quite quickly now and becoming tough to spot in the sunset. The planet will pass through inferior conjunction on March 25th. The planet will appear in the dawn sky around mid April. When it does appear, it will spend the remainder of 2017 as the morning star.
Venus Events for 2017 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date UT | Separation | Mag | ||
| Maximum Elongation | Jan 12 | 47.1°E | -4.4 | |
| Inferior Conjunction | Mar 25 | |||
| Maximum Elongation | Jun 3 | 45.9°W | -4.3 | |
| Source: NASA Sky Calendar | ||||
Look for the trio in the western sky this evening just after sunset, it will be nearly impossible to overlook. You have plenty of time to enjoy the show as the trio will not set until around 9:30pm.
The Moon is approaching the pair of Venus and Mars, tomorrow will see the trio in close proximity, forming a triangle of about 5° separation.
On the evening of the 31st, a pretty crescent Moon will join this dance in the sunset, forming a triangle about 5° across. A 16% illuminated crescent moon with make a lovely trio with the bright planets.
Look for the two as the evening sky begins to darken, they will not be difficult to find. Tomorrow the Moon will have moved 7° to the east of Venus.