Morning Planets Venus and Jupiter shine during morning twilight. Brilliant Venus shines in the southeastern sky with the waning crescent moon about 5 degrees away. Both are rapidly moving eastward compared to the stars, although the moon moves considerably faster. Tomorrow morning the moon is lower in the sky than this morning.
By clicking the image to see it larger, notice the “Earthshine” on the night portion of the moon. Sunlight reflected from our planet reaches the moon and gently illuminates the moon’s nighttime moonscape. We see a similar effect during a full moon. Stand outside when the moon is nearly full and you can see your shadow from moon light.
Bright Jupiter is in the western sky at the same time, about 125 degrees away from Venus.
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 images to see them larger.)