Brilliant Morning Star Venus and bright Jupiter shine in the eastern sky this morning as seen from the Chicago area. (Click the images to see them larger.) Venus continues its rapid descent into bright sunlight. This morning the two planets are 20 degrees apart and separating at about 1 degree each day. The star Regulus is nearby, 2 degrees to the upper right of Venus.
Meanwhile, several bright stars appear in the southeastern sky in the predawn sky. Sirius is brightest on the image above, yet dimmer than Jupiter and Venus. Sirius is about the same height as Jupiter but in the southeast. Betelgeuse and Rigel, stars in Orion, appear above Sirius. Notice their contrast in star color. Aldebaran, the brightest star in Taurus, and the Pleiades star cluster are nearly overhead. The image was composed of two separate images.
For more about the planets