November 6-29, 2026: Watch Venus rise earlier each morning as it appears to move from south of Spica to north of the star. Follow their changing separation through November.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Venus Loops Around Spica
As Venus emerges from bright sunlight after its inferior conjunction between Earth and Sun on October 23, it rapidly rises into the morning sky near Spica, Virgo’s brightest star. The Morning Star rises six to eight minutes earlier each morning. During November, Venus gains over 150 minutes of rising time compared to sunrise.
Watch Venus appear to loop from south of Spica to north of it.
Spica rises earlier because of Earth’s revolution around the Sun, rising about four minutes earlier each morning.
Similarly, some of Venus’ earlier rising time comes from Earth’s revolution, though the majority comes from Venus passing between Earth and Sun, then moving quickly ahead of Earth in their respective orbital paths.
Highlights
Step outside an hour before sunrise. Venus is the brilliant “star” in the east-southeast. Spica is nerby. Use a binocular to watch the separation in a restricted view. Here are the Venus-Spica separations represented in the accompanying diagram’s binocular view from November 6-29.
- November 6: 1.5°
- November 10: 1.2°
- November 15: 1.5°
- November 20: 1.9°
- November 25: 2.9°
- November 29: 4.4°
Look for the relative positions of Venus and Spica during November.
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