Under a waning gibbous moon, Morning Stars Venus and Jupiter dominate the eastern predawn sky in this 30-second image made at 4:10 a.m. this morning from the Chicago area. Both planets can be seen well into morning twilight high in the eastern sky.
Brilliant planet Venus is near the Gemini twins, Castor and Pollux. This morning Venus is about 10 degrees below Pollux. In just two mornings, Venus will appear along a line drawn through the two stars.
Bright Planet Jupiter appears about 44 degrees to the upper right of Venus among the stars of Taurus. It is near Aldebaran which is outside the frame. Bright star Capella appears to the left of Jupiter and Betelgeuse below.
Watch the planetary pair in the morning sky throughout the next several months. Read more about Venus as a Morning Star. For our monthly sky watching posting, click here. (Click the image to see it larger.)