Venus reappears in the morning sky this morning.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
For more about Venus as a morning star during 2020, read this article.
Welcome back, Venus! Eleven days after Venus passed between Earth and the sun (inferior conjunction), it is beginning to appear in the morning sky. It rises 4 minutes earlier each morning. This morning it appeared about 5° above the horizon about 25 minutes before sunrise.
This morning Venus joins the crescent moon, Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter in the sky at this hour. On July 19, the five-naked eye planets (Mercury – Saturn) appear in the sky with the crescent moon.
Through a binocular, the tiny crescent phase was visible. The image above was captured about 25 minutes before sunrise. When magnified, this image shows a hint of the crescent phase.
On June 19, the crescent moon appears 1.0° from brilliant Venus. On that morning the pair appears about 6° in altitude in the east-northeast. As seen in the image, find a clear horizon. With fully-leafed trees, this may require you to find an unusual observing location.