The Moon and Venus are getting closer (H. Michael Mogil, CCM, CBM, DMS)
If you happened to look to the west-southwest tonight just after sunset, and the clouds didn’t get in the way, you got to see the Moon catching up to Venus. Venus is the brightest planet in the sky right now and continues to impress in the evening sky.
The other night, a faint waxing crescent moon appeared on the western horizon just after the sun set. During the past two nights, as the sky darkened, the moon has become more easily visible in a position higher in the sky. Tonight, it lies just beneath Venus.
Mars, a very faint, reddish, planet by Venus’ standards, sits well above and slightly to the left of Venus.
All of these celestial bodies are annotated in Fig. 1 (image taken in Naples, FL).
Tomorrow evening, according to Earth & Sky, the Moon will sit above Venus, but below Mars.
Hope the clouds don’t ruin an impressive New Year’s sky show for my readers.
Enjoy!
© 2017 H. Michael Mogil
Originally posted 1/1/17