In a broken sky, Morning Stars Venus and Jupiter shine brightly from the eastern predawn sky this morning at 5 a.m. CDT in this 30-second exposure made from the Chicago area. Both planets can be seen well into bright morning twilight.
Planet Venus is the brightest starlike object in the image, appearing near Pollux and Castor, the Gemini twins. Tomorrow morning, Venus reaches an imaginary line drawn through the twin stars. Notice that Procyon, the brightest star in Canis Minor appears to the lower right of Venus and Betelgeuse (Orion) appears to the far right of the image.
Planet Jupiter appears about 45 degrees to the upper right of Venus near the star Aldebaran, the brightest star in Taurus. Capella (Auriga) appears to the left of Jupiter.
During the next few days, the moon enters the view. For our monthly sky watching posting, click here.
Watch the planetary pair in the morning sky throughout the next several months. Read more about Venus as a Morning Star. (Click the image to see it larger.)