November 29, 2020: Brilliant Morning Star Venus shines from the southeastern sky before sunrise. It is moving eastward in Libra as it steps toward Zubenelgenubi.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 6:57 a.m. CST; Sunset, 4:21 p.m. CST. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times for your location.
Brilliant Venus – the lone bright planet in the morning sky – shines from low in the east-southeast at about one hour before sunrise. The planet can be easily observed as the sky brightens and sunrise approaches.
The planet rises at about 4:30 a.m. It is losing 2-3 minutes of rising time compared to sunrise for many mornings into the future as it slowly slips toward morning twilight.
Observing the planet each morning at one hour before sunrise, the planet noticeably appears lower in the sky each morning at one hour before sunrise.
This morning, Venus is in Libra, 2.8° to the lower left of the star Lambda Virginis (λ Vir on the chart) and 5.6° to the upper right of Zubenelgenubi. Watch Venus move toward the star during the next 5 days.
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.
2021, February 19-21: Moon in Taurus
February 19-21: The bright moon moves through the constellation Taurus. Use a binocular to see the starry background with the moon.
2021, February 18: Evening Moon, Mars, Pleiades
February 18, 2021: The moon, waxing toward its First Quarter moon phase, is high in the southwest after sunset. Planet Mars is 3.8° to the upper right of the moon. Mars is parading eastward compared to the starry background in eastern Aries as it heads toward the Taurus border.
2021, February 6: Morning Moon, Antares
February 6, 2021: Before sunrise, look east-southeast for the waning crescent moon. It is 4.5° to the upper left of Antares – the rival of Mars.
Categories: Astronomy, Sky Watching
Leave a Reply Cancel reply