Prepare to be awestruck as Venus and the crescent moon put on a spellbinding display in the night sky on October 5th. Discover the fascinating science behind this celestial event and learn how to best enjoy this breathtaking spectacle. Explore the dynamic movements of these two celestial bodies and uncover the secrets of the sidereal month. Delve into the history of Venus’s close encounters with the moon and its significance for stargazers and astronomers alike.
Watch the Celestial Ballet: Venus, Crescent Moon
Saturday night, Oct. 5 after sunset – lower in the west-southwest horizon Look up on this Saturday evening as the sun crosses below the horizon. In the early starlight, you will be presented with a most enchanting heavenly spectacle. That breathtaking vision is Venus, shining brilliantly next to the slender crescent of the waxing Moon.
To the lower left of Venus, less than the width of your clenched fist held at arm’s length, the moon will hang a mere 4 degrees below it. However this celestial connection takes place every month with it being the result of of the moon’s orbit around our planet, as well as Venus moving in on its own orbit around the sun. Because the moon takes 27 days, 7 hours and 43 minutes to return to any given star in its cycle (called a ‘sidereal month’) we can predict when the moon will pass by that star again. The problem is Venus doesn’t exactly repeat its journey across the sky night after night like shining bodies fixed against the celestial backdrop; it moves swiftly enough around the sun to complicate the matter of timing these events ahead of time.
Untangling the Cosmic Ballet: Venus’s Orbit
Venus is not “fixed,” like the moon, which can be seen to shift by 13 degrees across the sky each night. Venus moves about 38° eastward in a month along the star background as it orbits the sun. As a result, the moon will roughy sit still for another 3 days before Venus catches up to it ensuring our next Venus-moon conjunction on November 4th.
The Planet’s own motion in orbit around the sun even plays a part in when these encounters occur (a meeting between Jupiter and Mars, straddling the track filmed by Brown at the time of closest encounter to see Earth from both sides). By November 4th when the moon completes basis with Venus, this points in the sky will have moved more toward the east, due to orbital motion on earth. It is to say that the moon, previously that was spotted in west-southwest path is now journeying a bit farther than before, to reach Venus in time when the sun position has taken over some region where moon or Venus were viewed earlier.
Over the next couple of weeks and months, Venus will climb higher and higher in the western sky, a brighter fixture of our dusk landscape. By New Year’s Day, Venus will be setting around 4 hours after the sun, and by February it will glow twice as bright as now, technically squelching even mighty Jupiter.
Tips For Stargazers Capturing The Celestial Ballet
A couple of basic tools can enhance the experience for any who are impatient to see that entrancing celestial ballet. Even a small telescope or a handheld pair of binoculars will work well to see the moon in conjunction with Venus and the nearby double star Alpha (α) Librae – a.k.a. Zubenelgenubi. Before joining the constellation of Libra, this double star () was in one of the southern loop’s claw over there – name no longer applies.
Be sure to watch the sun set on October 5 for this gorgeous view low in the west-southwest. Venus will appear as a dazzling brightness coming it at a magnitude of -4.0, with the crescent moon right alongside, so the tableau should be highly photogenic. Turn off all the lights and let at least one other of your family members be with you to witness this spectacle as it would be a sight that would instill memory in people for long. On October 5th, don’t miss out on watching this lovely cosmic tango because the next time you get to see Venus so close to the moon will be November 4th!
