A crescent moon shines in the morning sky with Venus. Castor and Pollux, the Gemini Twins, are nearby.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Brilliant morning star Venus and the crescent moon shine from the eastern sky this morning. The moon is only 9% illuminated.
The moon is about 12° to the lower left of the brilliant planet.
Venus and the moon are in front of the stars of Gemini. The moon is 6.6° to the right of Pollux. Venus is 1.2° to the lower left of Nu Geminorum (η Gem on the photo).
This evening, locate Jupiter and Saturn in the southeastern sky after sunset.
The first sightings of Sirius by the unaided eye occur are occurring this morning about 45 minutes before sunrise.
Here is a daily summary about the planets during August.
LATEST ARTICLES
- 2023, October 24: Venus, Jupiter, Bookend Bright OrionOctober 24, 2023: Morning planets Venus and Jupiter bookend many bright stars, including Orion. The moon is near Saturn during the evening.
- 2023, October 23: Venus at Greatest ElongationOctober 23, 2023: Venus moves to its farthest angular distance from the sun today, known as greatest elongation. During morning twilight, the Morning Star passes Leo’s Chertan.
- 2023, October 22: Moon Approaches SaturnOctober 22, 2023: During evening hours, the gibbous moon nears Saturn in the southern sky. Venus and Jupiter are visible during morning twilight.
- 2023, October 21: Three Bright Planets, First Quarter MoonOctober 21, 2023: Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn are easy to locate during nighttime hours. The First Quarter moon phase occurs this evening.
- 2023, October 20: Jupiter’s Double Shadows, Mercury at Superior ConjunctionOctober 20: After midnight, Jupiter’s moons’ shadows dance across the cloud tops. Mercury is at superior conjunction.