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.
2021, August 2: Saturn at Opposition
August 2, 2021: Saturn is at opposition with the sun. Earth is between the sun and the planet.
2021: August 1 – 6: Morning Moon, Bright Stars
August 1 – 6, 2021: The morning moon wanes toward its New moon phase in the eastern sky. It passes the bright stars that are prominent in the evening sky during the winter season in the northern hemisphere. The stars have been making their first appearances in the morning sky during summer. At this hour, Procyon and bright Sirius are the last stellar duo to appear.
2021, August 6: Summer’s Midpoint
August 6, 2021: In the northern hemisphere, summer’s midpoint occurs today at 6:27 p.m. CDT.
2021, July 31: Morning Sky, Moon, Mira, Uranus
July 31, 2021: The slightly gibbous moon, nearing its Last Quarter phase, is in the southeast as morning twilight begins. It is near the planet Uranus, easily within reach of a binocular. Mira, a variable star, reaches its brightest next month.
2021, July 29: Mars – Regulus Conjunction
July 29, 2021: In a challenging-to-see conjunction, Mars passes 0.6° to the upper right of the star Regulus.
Categories: Astronomy, Sky Watching
Leave a Reply