A beautiful crescent moon appears above Venus in the morning sky before sunrise on October 13, 2020.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Look eastward on the morning of October 13 for a beautiful crescent moon above brilliant Venus.
The chart above shows the pair along with the star Regulus (in Leo) about an hour before sunrise.
Venus rises at about 4 a.m. local time, about 3 hours before sunrise. The moon rises about an hour earlier than Venus. As morning twilight begins, the moon, Venus and the starry background rise higher into the sky.
See our summary about Venus during October 2020 and the feature article about Venus as a Morning Star.
If the sky is exceptionally clear, it might be easy to follow Venus and the moon in the eastern sky after sunrise.
On the accompanying chart, the moon is 26.0 days past the New moon phase and 16% illuminated. The lunar crescent is 8.8° above Venus and 5.9° to the lower left of Regulus.
Photographers can capture “earthshine” on the night portion of the moon with time exposures of a few seconds or more, along with the hues of twilight.
Find the moon and Venus tomorrow (October 14, 2020).
Read more about the planets during October.
2021, November 3: Unusual Mercury, Crescent Moon Spectacular
November 3, 2021: Before sunrise speedy planet Mercury, the crescent moon, and the star Spica are grouped together. The trio does not appear this close together again until 2033.
2021, October 31: NO Halloween Full Moon
October 31, 2021: There is no Halloween Full moon this year, and the phase is not close. The crescent moon is in the morning sky. Mercury is low in the east-southeast before sunrise. The planet pack – Venus, Saturn, and Jupiter – gleam in the evening sky.
2021, October 29: Venus, Greatest Elongation
October 29, 2021: Venus reaches its greatest elongation from the sun. It is in the evening sky with Jupiter and Saturn. The crescent moon and Mercury are in the eastern sky before sunrise.
2021, October 29 – November 1, Lion Moon
October 29 – November 1, 2021: The crescent moon moves in front of the stars of Leo in the eastern sky before sunrise. Watch the moon appear lower and the phase shrink (wane) each morning. Also note that there is no Full moon on Halloween this year!
2021, October 26-28: Morning Gemini Moon
October 26, 27, and 28, 2021: During the early morning hours, the bright gibbous moon appears in front of Gemini’s stars.
Categories: Astronomy, Sky Watching
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