November 27, 2020: Brilliant Venus is the lone bright morning planet. Find it in the east-southeast during early morning twilight. It is stepping eastward in Virgo, near the Virgo-Libra border.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 6:55 a.m. CST; Sunset, 4:22 p.m. CST. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times for your location.
Brilliant Venus is the lone bright planet in the morning sky. For practical observing, Mercury has departed its morning view for its superior conjunction with the sun and its first evening appearance of 2021 during January and February.
Venus is stepping eastward in Virgo, near the Virgo-Libra border. It is near two dimmer stars that can be located before the sky brightens too much or spotted with binocular. This morning the planet has a conjunction with dim Lambda Virginis (λ Vir on the chart). The gap is 1.2°. The star Kappa Virginis (κ Vir) is 2.8° to the upper right of Venus.
Venus is headed toward the vicinity of Zubenelgenubi – the Southern Claw. Zubeneschamali, the Northern Claw – is nearby. Venus passes between the stars on December 4. Watch the planet step eastward compared to the starry background.
Detailed note: One hour before sunrise, Venus is 14.0° up in the east-southeast. In the starfield it is 2.8° to the lower left of κ Vir and passes 1.2° to the upper left of λ Vir.
See our summary about Venus during November 2020 and the feature article about Venus as a Morning Star.
Read more about the planets during November.
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