Brilliant planet Venus is moving through the “club” region of Orion. Tomorrow it moves into Gemini.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
On this peak Perseid meteor shower morning and the impending helical rising of Sirius, the brilliant Morning Star Venus, appears in the eastern sky.
This is the final morning that Venus is in the club area of Orion for this appearance. Venus is to the lower right of Eta Geminorum (η Gem on the photo) and Mu Geminorum (μ Gem).
In this starfield, Venus is 2.7° to the lower right of η Gem and 2.5° to the lower right of μ Gem.
Notice that Orion’s shoulders – Betelgeuse and Bellatrix – appear to the right of the Morning Star.
The planet continues to move eastward – toward the lower left on the photo.
At the beginning of the month, Venus was near Zeta Tauri (ζ Tau), that appears near the top of the image.
Venus and the crescent moon make a beautiful grouping on August 15. Get your camera ready!
Bright Mars is higher in the sky toward the south this morning.
The first sightings of Sirius by the unaided eye occur this week about 45 minutes before sunrise.
Here is a daily summary about the planets during August.
2021, May 14: Planets on Parade
May 14, 2021: Five planets are on parade. Bright Jupiter and Saturn are in the southeast before sunrise. After sundown, brilliant Evening Star Venus, Mercury, Mars, and the lunar crescent are in the evening sky.
2021, May 13: Evening Star Venus, Mercury, Moon
May 13, 2021: Venus, Mercury, the crescent moon, and Mars are in the western sky after sunset.
2021, May 13: Bright Jupiter, Saturn Morning Planets
May 13, 2021: Bright Jupiter and Saturn are the morning planets in the southeast before sunrise.
2021, May 12: Spectacular Venus-Moon Grouping
May 12, 2021: Thirty minutes after sunset, the razor-thin moon is 1.2° to the left of brilliant Venus. This is the closest grouping of the moon and Venus during this evening appearance of the brilliant planet. Mercury is 9.1° to the upper left of Venus. Mars maintains its eastward march in Gemini. Sirius and Aldebaran are near their heliacal settings, their final appearances in the evening sky for the year.
2021, May 12: Morning Planets Jupiter, Saturn
May 12, 2021: Before sunrise bright Jupiter, in front of Aquarius, is in the southeast before sunrise. Saturn is to the upper right of Jupiter, in Capricornus. In a few mornings, Saturn begins to retrograde.
Categories: Astronomy, Sky Watching
Leave a Reply Cancel reply