2021, August 10: Evening Star Venus, Crescent Moon

Astronomy, Sky Watching
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August 10, 2021:  The crescent moon is near Venus in the western sky after sunset.

2021, August 10: The crescent moon is 5.7° to the right of Venus during the early evening.
Chart Caption – 2021, August 10: The crescent moon is 5.7° to the right of Venus during the early evening.

by Jeffrey L. Hunt

Chicago, Illinois:  Sunrise, 5:54 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 7:57 p.m. CDT.  Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times for your location.

As the moon reappears in the evening sky, it joins Venus this evening and tomorrow evening.  The moon reset the moon phase clock two mornings ago. This evening the waxing moon is 7% illuminated.

Forty-five minutes after sunset, brilliant Evening Star Venus shines through the colorful layers of evening twilight from the western sky.  It is low, so find an observing spot free from obstructions – trees, houses, and buildings.

The crescent moon is 5.7° to the right of the brilliant planet.

While not necessary to see the pair, both fit snugly into the field of view of a binocular.

Tomorrow evening, the moon is a little farther away to the upper left of Venus.

Have you seen Venus and Jupiter at the same time?  When you see Venus, look toward the east-southeast.  Bright Jupiter is low in the sky in that direction.  Saturn is to its upper right.

Detailed Daily Note: One hour before sunrise, bright Jupiter, retrograding in Aquarius, is nearly 20° up in the southwest. It is 1.0° to the right of ι Aqr.  Saturn, about 4° up in the west-southwest, is becoming difficult to spot at this hour, 18.9° to the lower right of Jupiter.  Beginning tomorrow, Saturn disappears from the morning portion of the note.  Details about its position relative to the starry background appears with the evening part of the daily commentary.  Forty-five minutes after sunset, brilliant Venus, in Virgo, is about 8° up in the west, 5.7° to the left of the lunar crescent (2.5d, 7%). Watch the moon hop toward and pass Spica during the next two nights.  Venus does not pass Spica until September 5.  This evening the Venus – Spica gap is 30.2°. Venus moves nearly 1.2° eastward in ecliptic longitude from evening to evening.  Through a telescope, Venus is an evening gibbous, 79% illuminated and 13.3” across. At this hour, Saturn is over 11° up in the southeast.  Jupiter is over 3° above the east-southeast horizon.

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