Venus brightest in morning sky September 19, 2023


Venus brightest: Morning twilight, and a very bright planet, labeled as Venus.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | EarthSky’s Deborah Byrd caught Venus with an iPhone, over the desert west of Santa Fe, New Mexico, on September 14, 2023. It was super bright! It’s easy to see, even from cities. When is Venus brightest? Read more below.

Greatest brilliancy for Venus is a treat! Watch for Venus in the east before sunrise around mid-September 2023.

Venus brightest in morning sky, around September 19

Venus is the brightest planet. It outshines any other object in our sky, with the exception of the sun and moon. And it’s dazzling around September 19, brightest for 2023. You can’t miss Venus! Look for it in the sunrise direction on any clear morning around now. When it’s this bright, Venus appears as an eerily eye-catching beacon in the morning sky. It’s visible not just in a dark sky, but in bright morning twilight as well.

Astronomers call the September 19 event a greatest brilliancy of Venus.

Venus will reach its peak in brilliancy – at magnitude -4.8 – on September 19. It won’t appear this bright to us again until February 2025, when it’ll reside in the west after sunset.

Venus before sunrise in 2023

Venus was in our evening sky when 2023 began. It left the evening sky – passing more or less between us and the sun – on August 13. Astronomers called the August 13 event an inferior conjunction of Venus.

But, by late August, Venus had emerged from the twilight glare at dawn. As seen from the Northern Hemisphere in early September, it made a beeline to a point high above the sunrise. Southern Hemisphere viewers can see Venus blazing in their eastern dawn skies now, too. From there, Venus isn’t as high in the sky before sunrise. It’s more to one side of the sunrise.

All this time Earth and Venus are moving in their orbits around the sun. Venus moves faster. And its orbit is smaller. Since its August 13 inferior conjunction, Venus has been fleeing ahead of Earth in its orbit.

Circle with sun at center, planets around, and zodiac names on outer edge.
View larger. | Heliocentric view of solar system, September 2023. Notice Earth and Venus. Chart via Guy Ottewell.

What is greatest brilliancy?

Greatest brilliancy for Venus is a combination of two factors: illumination and disk size. Remember … Venus passed us in its smaller, faster orbit on August 13. It was hard to catch that day (even in photos), because its lighted face was turned mostly away from us.

Even now, we’re still not seeing a fully illuminated Venus. Instead, as seen through telescopes – as Venus flees ahead – its phase has been increasing, like a tiny waxing moon. But, meanwhile, again as seen through telescopes, the disk size of Venus has been decreasing as the planet races ahead.

Illumination. Venus reaches its greatest illuminated extent on September 19. That’s when the lighted portion of the planet – the crescent Venus, seen through telescopes now – will cover its greatest area on our sky’s dome. Does this mean the phase will stop increasing now? No. It means Venus is at a maximum phase (25%) for its disk size.

Disk size. Remember, again as seen through a telescope, the disk of Venus is shrinking. In September, 2023, Venus goes from a 49-arcsecond crescent disk through telescopes to a 32-arcsecond crescent disk.

So greatest brilliancy for Venus is combination of maximum phase and disk size. The two combine to give us a bright planet Venus.

Then, as it flees ahead of us, the phase continues to increase … but the disk size decreases. So Venus will appear a smidgeon fainter to us a month from now, and fainter still (but still very bright!) by the year’s end.

8 positions of Venus around its orbit, sun in center, with Venus's phases shown as viewed from Earth.
The phases of Venus – and its locations at inferior and superior conjunction – as viewed from Earth. Adapted from an image by NASA/ Chmee2/ Wikimedia Commons/ CC BY-SA 3.0.

When greatest brilliancy happens

Venus’ greatest illuminated extent – or greatest brilliancy – in our morning sky always happens about a month before Venus reaches greatest western (morning) elongation. Its next greatest western (morning) elongation will fall on October 23, 2023.

Diagram of orbits of Venus and Earth with sightlines from Earth to Venus at different times.
Earth and Venus orbit the sun counterclockwise as seen from the north side of the solar system. Venus reaches its greatest eastern elongation in the evening sky about 72 days before inferior conjunction and its greatest western elongation in the morning sky about 72 days after inferior conjunction. Greatest illuminated extent for Venus comes midway between a greatest elongation and an inferior conjunction. Adapted from an image by Wmheric/ Wikimedia Commons/ CC BY-SA 3.0.

Venus charts for 2023, from Guy Ottewell

Thin crescent becomes smaller and grows to a gibbous shape in a loop from the lower left horizon, loops up to the right and curves back towards the horizon..
View larger. | Venus’ greatest morning elongation in 2023 from the Northern Hemisphere as viewed through a powerful telescope. Greatest elongation will come on October 23. The planet images are at the 1st, 11th, and 21st of each month. Dots show the actual positions of Venus every day. Chart via Guy Ottewell’s 2023 Astronomical Calendar. Used with permission.
Thin crescent becomes smaller but grows to a gibbous shape in a loop from the horizon, up to the left and to the right.
View larger. | Venus’ greatest morning elongation in 2023 from the Southern Hemisphere as viewed through a powerful telescope. Greatest elongation will come on October 23. The planet images are at the 1st, 11th, and 21st of each month. And the dots show the actual positions of Venus every day. Chart via Guy Ottewell’s 2023 Astronomical Calendar. Used with permission.

Venus photos from our community

Composite of Venus phases, February 2023 to August 2023.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Vedant Pandey wrote: “I am Vedant Pandey, a 17 year old amateur astrophotographer from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. I photographed Venus since it appeared in the evening sky in February, 2023. And here are the phases of Venus, from waxing gibbous in February to its crescent phase in August, as seen by my telescope.” Wow! Thank you, Vedant!
Venus brightest: Deep blue sky with scattered stars, small dot circled labeled Uranus, and larger dot labeled Venus.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Jim Bruzek of Dayton, Maryland, captured this image on March 23, 2023, and wrote: “Venus and Uranus at dusk from Dayton, Maryland.” Thank you, Jim!

More Venus images

Composite of phases of Venus 2023.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Roberto Ortu of Cabras, Sardinia, Italy, captured these images of Venus and wrote: “This is a mosaic with the best photos of the planet that I got from May 23, 2023, until August 8, 2023. The images show its phases, very similar to those of the moon, and the increase in its apparent diameter caused by the approach to the Earth.” Thank you, Roberto!
Venus shown 3 times at different phases and different sizes.
View larger. | This composite images shows how Venus changes in size and phases as it gets closer to Earth. Image via Tom and Jane Wildoner/ Dark Side Observatory. Used with permission.
Thin crescent phase of Venus.
This image of Venus was captured during daylight when Venus was 6% illuminated. Image via Tom and Jane Wildoner/ Dark Side Observatory. Used with permission.

What’s next for Venus?

Though it’s brightest in September, 2023, Venus will be farthest from the sunrise – at greatest morning elongation – in October, 2023.

And it’ll continue to blaze in our morning sky – east before dawn – through March, 2024.

Bottom line: Venus will be brightest in the morning sky around September 19, 2023. After that, Venus won’t be this bright again until February and April of 2025.

Planet-observing is easy: Top tips here

EarthSky’s monthly planet guide: Visible planets and more

The post Venus brightest in morning sky September 19, 2023 first appeared on EarthSky.



from EarthSky https://ift.tt/O5wok0J
Venus brightest: Morning twilight, and a very bright planet, labeled as Venus.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | EarthSky’s Deborah Byrd caught Venus with an iPhone, over the desert west of Santa Fe, New Mexico, on September 14, 2023. It was super bright! It’s easy to see, even from cities. When is Venus brightest? Read more below.

Greatest brilliancy for Venus is a treat! Watch for Venus in the east before sunrise around mid-September 2023.

Venus brightest in morning sky, around September 19

Venus is the brightest planet. It outshines any other object in our sky, with the exception of the sun and moon. And it’s dazzling around September 19, brightest for 2023. You can’t miss Venus! Look for it in the sunrise direction on any clear morning around now. When it’s this bright, Venus appears as an eerily eye-catching beacon in the morning sky. It’s visible not just in a dark sky, but in bright morning twilight as well.

Astronomers call the September 19 event a greatest brilliancy of Venus.

Venus will reach its peak in brilliancy – at magnitude -4.8 – on September 19. It won’t appear this bright to us again until February 2025, when it’ll reside in the west after sunset.

Venus before sunrise in 2023

Venus was in our evening sky when 2023 began. It left the evening sky – passing more or less between us and the sun – on August 13. Astronomers called the August 13 event an inferior conjunction of Venus.

But, by late August, Venus had emerged from the twilight glare at dawn. As seen from the Northern Hemisphere in early September, it made a beeline to a point high above the sunrise. Southern Hemisphere viewers can see Venus blazing in their eastern dawn skies now, too. From there, Venus isn’t as high in the sky before sunrise. It’s more to one side of the sunrise.

All this time Earth and Venus are moving in their orbits around the sun. Venus moves faster. And its orbit is smaller. Since its August 13 inferior conjunction, Venus has been fleeing ahead of Earth in its orbit.

Circle with sun at center, planets around, and zodiac names on outer edge.
View larger. | Heliocentric view of solar system, September 2023. Notice Earth and Venus. Chart via Guy Ottewell.

What is greatest brilliancy?

Greatest brilliancy for Venus is a combination of two factors: illumination and disk size. Remember … Venus passed us in its smaller, faster orbit on August 13. It was hard to catch that day (even in photos), because its lighted face was turned mostly away from us.

Even now, we’re still not seeing a fully illuminated Venus. Instead, as seen through telescopes – as Venus flees ahead – its phase has been increasing, like a tiny waxing moon. But, meanwhile, again as seen through telescopes, the disk size of Venus has been decreasing as the planet races ahead.

Illumination. Venus reaches its greatest illuminated extent on September 19. That’s when the lighted portion of the planet – the crescent Venus, seen through telescopes now – will cover its greatest area on our sky’s dome. Does this mean the phase will stop increasing now? No. It means Venus is at a maximum phase (25%) for its disk size.

Disk size. Remember, again as seen through a telescope, the disk of Venus is shrinking. In September, 2023, Venus goes from a 49-arcsecond crescent disk through telescopes to a 32-arcsecond crescent disk.

So greatest brilliancy for Venus is combination of maximum phase and disk size. The two combine to give us a bright planet Venus.

Then, as it flees ahead of us, the phase continues to increase … but the disk size decreases. So Venus will appear a smidgeon fainter to us a month from now, and fainter still (but still very bright!) by the year’s end.

8 positions of Venus around its orbit, sun in center, with Venus's phases shown as viewed from Earth.
The phases of Venus – and its locations at inferior and superior conjunction – as viewed from Earth. Adapted from an image by NASA/ Chmee2/ Wikimedia Commons/ CC BY-SA 3.0.

When greatest brilliancy happens

Venus’ greatest illuminated extent – or greatest brilliancy – in our morning sky always happens about a month before Venus reaches greatest western (morning) elongation. Its next greatest western (morning) elongation will fall on October 23, 2023.

Diagram of orbits of Venus and Earth with sightlines from Earth to Venus at different times.
Earth and Venus orbit the sun counterclockwise as seen from the north side of the solar system. Venus reaches its greatest eastern elongation in the evening sky about 72 days before inferior conjunction and its greatest western elongation in the morning sky about 72 days after inferior conjunction. Greatest illuminated extent for Venus comes midway between a greatest elongation and an inferior conjunction. Adapted from an image by Wmheric/ Wikimedia Commons/ CC BY-SA 3.0.

Venus charts for 2023, from Guy Ottewell

Thin crescent becomes smaller and grows to a gibbous shape in a loop from the lower left horizon, loops up to the right and curves back towards the horizon..
View larger. | Venus’ greatest morning elongation in 2023 from the Northern Hemisphere as viewed through a powerful telescope. Greatest elongation will come on October 23. The planet images are at the 1st, 11th, and 21st of each month. Dots show the actual positions of Venus every day. Chart via Guy Ottewell’s 2023 Astronomical Calendar. Used with permission.
Thin crescent becomes smaller but grows to a gibbous shape in a loop from the horizon, up to the left and to the right.
View larger. | Venus’ greatest morning elongation in 2023 from the Southern Hemisphere as viewed through a powerful telescope. Greatest elongation will come on October 23. The planet images are at the 1st, 11th, and 21st of each month. And the dots show the actual positions of Venus every day. Chart via Guy Ottewell’s 2023 Astronomical Calendar. Used with permission.

Venus photos from our community

Composite of Venus phases, February 2023 to August 2023.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Vedant Pandey wrote: “I am Vedant Pandey, a 17 year old amateur astrophotographer from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. I photographed Venus since it appeared in the evening sky in February, 2023. And here are the phases of Venus, from waxing gibbous in February to its crescent phase in August, as seen by my telescope.” Wow! Thank you, Vedant!
Venus brightest: Deep blue sky with scattered stars, small dot circled labeled Uranus, and larger dot labeled Venus.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Jim Bruzek of Dayton, Maryland, captured this image on March 23, 2023, and wrote: “Venus and Uranus at dusk from Dayton, Maryland.” Thank you, Jim!

More Venus images

Composite of phases of Venus 2023.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Roberto Ortu of Cabras, Sardinia, Italy, captured these images of Venus and wrote: “This is a mosaic with the best photos of the planet that I got from May 23, 2023, until August 8, 2023. The images show its phases, very similar to those of the moon, and the increase in its apparent diameter caused by the approach to the Earth.” Thank you, Roberto!
Venus shown 3 times at different phases and different sizes.
View larger. | This composite images shows how Venus changes in size and phases as it gets closer to Earth. Image via Tom and Jane Wildoner/ Dark Side Observatory. Used with permission.
Thin crescent phase of Venus.
This image of Venus was captured during daylight when Venus was 6% illuminated. Image via Tom and Jane Wildoner/ Dark Side Observatory. Used with permission.

What’s next for Venus?

Though it’s brightest in September, 2023, Venus will be farthest from the sunrise – at greatest morning elongation – in October, 2023.

And it’ll continue to blaze in our morning sky – east before dawn – through March, 2024.

Bottom line: Venus will be brightest in the morning sky around September 19, 2023. After that, Venus won’t be this bright again until February and April of 2025.

Planet-observing is easy: Top tips here

EarthSky’s monthly planet guide: Visible planets and more

The post Venus brightest in morning sky September 19, 2023 first appeared on EarthSky.



from EarthSky https://ift.tt/O5wok0J
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