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, January 20: Mercury, Bright Moon, Mars Conjunction
January 20, 2021: Mercury is low in the west-southwest after sunset. The bright moon is to the lower right of Mars, while the Red Planet passes planet Uranus.
2021, January 19: Mercury, Moon, Mars, Uranus
January 19, 2021: Mercury is low in the west-southwest after sunset. The moon is approaching Mars before their grouping tomorrow evening. Mars nears the planet Uranus before tomorrow’s conjunction.
2021, January 18: Morning Herder, Evening Planets
January 18, 2021: Without a bright morning planet, bright Arcturus and the constellation Bootes the Herdsman is high in the south. The crescent moon is in the early evening sky. Mars is near the planet Uranus. They are high in the south-southeast as night falls.
Categories: Astronomy, Sky Watching
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