Tag: Venus

Venus and Jupiter

Back in April and May we saw Venus pass Uranus and Neptune making for badly mismatched conjunctions. This week it will be Jupiter, the only planet able to shine brightly enough to make a good pairing for Venus.

Today the pair are drawing close, currently separated by 5.5°. Close approach will occur on the 17th when the pair will rise in the dawn separated by only 35′. The closest approach will happen well after sunrise in the islands, about 18:06HST at a separation of a mere 12′, easily close enough to fit in the same telescopic field. The major challenge here is that the conjunction will occur only 17° from the Sun.

Venus will outshine Jupiter by over a magnitude, -3.9 compared to Jupiter’s -1.8 magnitude. The sizes will be comparable as well. Venus will be smaller at only 10.3″ compared to Jupiter’s 31.6″ across at the equator.

In an odd twist, this conjunction will occur on the edge of the Beehive cluster, M44. The cluster is not likely to be very visible given the advent of dawn, but it will be there.

The Moon, Mercury and Venus

Tomorrow morning, July 25th, will see a pretty display of planets low in the dawn. A thin crescent Moon, only 2% illuminated, will join both Mercury and Venus just before sunrise. The trio will be quite low, the Moon rising last, at 04:59, just one hour before the Sun. Mercury will be 5.5° north of the Moon shining at -1 magnitude. Venus will be highest, 9° above, shining brightly at -3.9 magnitude.

Despite the glow of dawn these three will be bright enough to be seen quite clearly against the glow, it should be a spectacular dawn.

The Moon and Venus

Tomorrow morning, July 24th, will see a brilliant Venus paired with a crescent Moon. Look for the pair to rise about 04:06HST to be 23° above the horizon at sunrise. A 5% illuminated Moon will be a nice match for Venus shining brilliantly at -3.9 magnitude. Separation will be just over 4.5&deg.

Mercury has not quite slipped away and will still be visible 8° below Venus, rising about 4:44HST at 15° ahead of the Sun.

Mercury and Venus

As Mercury approaches maximum elongation on July 12th it is also approaching Venus in the sky. The little planet will reach elongation and turn to dive back into the dawn before properly rendezvousing with Venus. The minimum separation will be about 6° on the morning of July 16th.

While the pair will remain well separated, it will still be a pretty pairing in the dawn that will last for over a week. Simply look below the brilliant Venus for Mercury shining near 0 magnitude, it will be quite easy to spot in the glow of dawn.

Venus and Uranus

Over the next few days Venus will swing quite close to Uranus. Today the pair is separated by 2°48′. This will decrease to 1°15′ on the 15th for the closest approach.

Much like the Venus and Neptune pair we saw last month, the pair is quite a mismatch… Uranus is a mere 5.1 magnitude while Venus is a brilliant -4.0. There will be two 4th magnitude stars to the north of the pair, δPsc and εPsc, but these will be about 4° away from Venus and should be easy to distinguish. Look for Neptune betwixt Venus and the stars.

The Moon and Venus

Tomorrow morning, April 25th, will see a brilliant Venus paired with a crescent Moon. Look for the pair to rise about 03:41HST to be 30° above the horizon at sunrise. A 15% illuminated Moon will be a nice match for Venus shining brilliantly at -4.1 magnitude. Separation will be about 4&deg.

The following morning, April 26th, will see the Moon much closer to the horizon, over 11° west of the planet.

Venus and Neptune

Over the next few days Venus will swing quite close to Neptune. Today the pair is separated by 2°41′. This will decrease to 49′ on the 11th and remain close at 51′ on the 12th.

The pair is quite a mismatch… Neptune is a mere 7.9 magnitude while Venus is a brilliant -4.2, over 60,000 times brighter. The 4.8 magnitude star σAqr will be 1.5° southwest of the two, the only nearby object that can be confused for the planet.

Next month, on May 15th, Venus will pass about 1° from to Uranus for a similar oddball conjunction.