A Crescent Moon and Venus Meet Again in the Night Sky
As Martin Prince says at the conclusion of his class president pre-election speech, Keep watching the skies…
And tonight you will be rewarded. We will again get a lovely sight in the Western sky when a 10% crescent moon will be very close to a 20% crescent Venus, which is the second brightest object in the night sky. If you remember back in November, a crescent Moon aligned with not only Venus, but also Jupiter. It was pretty, indeed, but now, Venus is brighter.
But wait, Venus is going to be in its crescent form, right? Why would that be brighter than say a full Venus? And the answer to that, my friends, is that Venus is actually closer to the Earth when in its orbit at the point that it appears as a crescent to Earthlings.
Did you also know that you can see Venus during the daytime right now? It’s that bright. If you have a clear day (unlike me today in Portland, Oregon), get outside and try to find a shady spot from the sun’s direct rays into your eyes. Find the slight light of the thin sliver of the Moon, which will be directly east from the Sun. Scout a few “thumbs” away from the Moon, and you will find Venus. By the time the sun sets, Venus will be on the right side of the Moon from our perspective in the Western Hemisphere. In fact, when the show is at its best, the Moon will look like a coy, tight-lipped smile with a Venus beauty mark off to the right. 2 degrees right, to be exact.
Viewing will be best from sundown for about three hours before both the Moon and Venus set. And yes, a telescope is handy, but this show is for all to see. If you are lucky, you may also see a Russian Kosmos satellite move through the Moon-Venus alignment.
night sky, Moon, Venus, crescent, skywatching, Martin Prince, western hemisphere, Jupiter, align, Sun, Earth, astronomy
