Before dawn tomorrow – October 26, 2015 – the planet Venus reaches a huge milestone in the morning sky. This brilliant world attains its greatest western elongation – its farthest point from the sunrise. By a wonderful coincidence, Venus is also in conjunction with the planet Jupiter on October 26. Plus, the closest grouping of the three morning planets (Venus, Jupiter and Mars) for all of 2015 takes place on October 26. Follow the links below to learn more.
Conjunction of Jupiter and Venus
Jupiter, Venus and Mars closest for 2015
Don’t miss the planetary trio – three planets within a 5-degree circle on the sky’s dome – from around October 24 to 29, 2015.
Venus at elongation. The present apparition of Venus in the morning sky started on August 15, 2015, and will come to an end on June 6, 2016. And, in all of those month, Venus’ angular distance from the sun – its greatest distance from the sunrise – is on October 26, 2015.
At this morning elongation of Venus, the planet is 47o west of the sun, and in the eastern sky before dawn.
Everyone around the world can see the “morning star” easily now.
Do you have a telescope? At its greatest elongation in the morning or evening sky, Venus’ disk is always about half-illuminated (50%) in sunshine – like the half-lit quarter moon. Believe it or not, Venus’ phase will be easier to view through the telescope in a twilight or daytime sky. In the predawn sky, the glare of this brilliant world is generally too overwhelming for a crisp view.
This particular elongation favors the Northern Hemisphere. At mid-northern latitudes, Venus now rises about four hours before sun, while at mid-southern latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere, Venus only rises about two hours before sunrise.
Conjunction of Jupiter and Venus. Officially, a conjunction happens when two planets have the same right ascension, which is similar to longitude on our sky’s dome. That’s the case with Jupiter and Venus now. Venus is 1.1 degrees south of Jupiter – about two moon diameters – on our sky’s dome at around 8 UTC on October 26.
Unofficially, people speak of planets being in conjunction when they are simply close together in our sky, and that’s the case now, too. Venus and Jupiter are close on October 26 and for some mornings to come!
Conjunctions are common. There are perhaps a dozen or more planet-to-planet conjunction every year. But Venus and Jupiter are bright. They rank as the third-brightest and fourth-brightest celestial bodies in all the heavens, respectively, after the sun and moon.
You’ll spot them easily at morning dawn.
Jupiter, Venus and Mars closest for 2015. Look closely. Venus and Jupiter aren’t the only planets in the predawn sky. Jupiter, Venus and Mars are now in the midst of what’s called a planetary trio in our predawn sky. That is, all three planets have been within a 5-degree circle on our sky’s dome since around October 24. They’ll remain this close until around October 29.
Meanwhile, they are closest in the October 26 predawn sky. Watch for them, if your sky is clear!
As we mentioned above, Venus and Jupiter are very, very bright. To view fainter Mars, though, you might need to get up an hour or more before sunrise, as Mars is some 250 times fainter than Venus, the sky’s brightest planet, and some 25 times fainter than Jupiter, the sky’s second-brightest planet.
By the way, the last planetary trio was in 2013. We won’t see another one until January of 2021.
Also, some of you might catch a fourth planet – Mercury – over the horizon as darkness gives way to dawn. This particular morning apparition of Mercury favors the Northern Hemisphere. See chart at top of post.
Bottom line: Venus is both at greatest morning elongation – farthest from the sunrise – and in conjunction with Jupiter tomorrow morning. Plus, the closest grouping of the three morning planets – Venus, Jupiter and Mars – is still taking place!
from EarthSky http://ift.tt/1KSgO0W
Before dawn tomorrow – October 26, 2015 – the planet Venus reaches a huge milestone in the morning sky. This brilliant world attains its greatest western elongation – its farthest point from the sunrise. By a wonderful coincidence, Venus is also in conjunction with the planet Jupiter on October 26. Plus, the closest grouping of the three morning planets (Venus, Jupiter and Mars) for all of 2015 takes place on October 26. Follow the links below to learn more.
Conjunction of Jupiter and Venus
Jupiter, Venus and Mars closest for 2015
Don’t miss the planetary trio – three planets within a 5-degree circle on the sky’s dome – from around October 24 to 29, 2015.
Venus at elongation. The present apparition of Venus in the morning sky started on August 15, 2015, and will come to an end on June 6, 2016. And, in all of those month, Venus’ angular distance from the sun – its greatest distance from the sunrise – is on October 26, 2015.
At this morning elongation of Venus, the planet is 47o west of the sun, and in the eastern sky before dawn.
Everyone around the world can see the “morning star” easily now.
Do you have a telescope? At its greatest elongation in the morning or evening sky, Venus’ disk is always about half-illuminated (50%) in sunshine – like the half-lit quarter moon. Believe it or not, Venus’ phase will be easier to view through the telescope in a twilight or daytime sky. In the predawn sky, the glare of this brilliant world is generally too overwhelming for a crisp view.
This particular elongation favors the Northern Hemisphere. At mid-northern latitudes, Venus now rises about four hours before sun, while at mid-southern latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere, Venus only rises about two hours before sunrise.
Conjunction of Jupiter and Venus. Officially, a conjunction happens when two planets have the same right ascension, which is similar to longitude on our sky’s dome. That’s the case with Jupiter and Venus now. Venus is 1.1 degrees south of Jupiter – about two moon diameters – on our sky’s dome at around 8 UTC on October 26.
Unofficially, people speak of planets being in conjunction when they are simply close together in our sky, and that’s the case now, too. Venus and Jupiter are close on October 26 and for some mornings to come!
Conjunctions are common. There are perhaps a dozen or more planet-to-planet conjunction every year. But Venus and Jupiter are bright. They rank as the third-brightest and fourth-brightest celestial bodies in all the heavens, respectively, after the sun and moon.
You’ll spot them easily at morning dawn.
Jupiter, Venus and Mars closest for 2015. Look closely. Venus and Jupiter aren’t the only planets in the predawn sky. Jupiter, Venus and Mars are now in the midst of what’s called a planetary trio in our predawn sky. That is, all three planets have been within a 5-degree circle on our sky’s dome since around October 24. They’ll remain this close until around October 29.
Meanwhile, they are closest in the October 26 predawn sky. Watch for them, if your sky is clear!
As we mentioned above, Venus and Jupiter are very, very bright. To view fainter Mars, though, you might need to get up an hour or more before sunrise, as Mars is some 250 times fainter than Venus, the sky’s brightest planet, and some 25 times fainter than Jupiter, the sky’s second-brightest planet.
By the way, the last planetary trio was in 2013. We won’t see another one until January of 2021.
Also, some of you might catch a fourth planet – Mercury – over the horizon as darkness gives way to dawn. This particular morning apparition of Mercury favors the Northern Hemisphere. See chart at top of post.
Bottom line: Venus is both at greatest morning elongation – farthest from the sunrise – and in conjunction with Jupiter tomorrow morning. Plus, the closest grouping of the three morning planets – Venus, Jupiter and Mars – is still taking place!
from EarthSky http://ift.tt/1KSgO0W
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