
December 19, 2020: Brilliant Venus shines from low in the southeast among the stars of Scorpius. The planet rapidly moves through the constellation.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 7:14 a.m. CST; Sunset, 4:22 p.m. CST. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times for your location.
Venus 2-3 rises later each morning. This morning it rises less than 2 hours (113 minutes) before sunrise. By 45 minutes before sunrise it is less than 10° up in the southeast. It is now past Graffias (β Sco on the chart). Unlike slow-moving Jupiter and Saturn, Venus opened a big gap – 1.3° – with the star this morning. With a binocular note that Venus is near Nu Scorpii (ν Sco) and Omega1 Scorpii (ω1 Sco).
Detailed Note: Forty-five minutes before sunrise, Venus is less than 10° in altitude in the southeast, 1.3° to the lower left of β Sco, 0.5° to the lower right of ν Sco, and 1.2° to the left of ω1 Sco. Venus is below a line from ν Sco to ω1 Sco.
See our summary about Venus during December 2020 and the feature article about Venus as a Morning Star.
Read more about the planets during December.
RECENT ARTICLES

2022, June 21: Evening Planet Parade Visibility, Summer Solstice
June 21, 2022: How frequently are the five bright planets visible in their order from the sun after sundown? Five the morning planet parade in the eastern sky before sunrise.
Keep reading
2022, June 20: Morning Planet Parade Visibility
June 20, 2022: How frequently are the five bright planets visible in their order from the sun before daybreak? These planets are in this order in the eastern sky before sunrise.
Keep reading
2022, June 19: Planet Order Frequency, Moon Identifies Planets
June 19, 2022: How frequently are the five bright planets in order from the sun to create a morning or evening planet parade. The five planets are in the sky before daybreak.
Keep readingCategories: Astronomy, Sky Watching
Leave a Reply