Morning Planets Venus and Jupiter gleam from a clear sky this morning. Brilliant Venus shines brightly in the southeastern sky at 5:25 a.m. in the image above. The bright star Spica (Virgo) appears about 6 degrees below the planet. Venus passes about 4 degrees from Spica on November 16.
Bright Jupiter appears among the stars of Taurus in the western sky, over 125 degrees from Venus. In the image above made at 5:20 a.m. CST, Jupiter appears near Aldebaran, the constellation’s brightest star. Zeta Tauri and Elnath, the bull’s horns, appear above Jupiter. Two star clusters, the Pleiades and the Hyades are nearby.
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.)