Planetary Conjunction: Mars and Venus, October 5, 2017

Since the first appearance of Mars in the dawn sky in mid-September, Venus has been closing in on the Red Planet at an average rate of 0°.6 per day. On October 5th the two planets meet, Venus passing just 0°.2 North of Mars in a planetary conjunction which is best seen from the Northern hemisphere. The star σ Leo (Sigma Leonis, mag. +4.0), at the foot of the Lion's hind leg, is positioned just 0°.3 to the NNE of Venus at the time of the conjunction. One hour after the event, Venus passes 0°.3 South of the star. Further details of the event can be seen in the 'planetary conjunctions' section below.

Source: NakedEyePlanets.com - The Venus Morning Apparition of 2017.

I took the trash out this morning. The clouds were lightly tinged hues of pink and red in the pre-dawn morning. I look up towards the east to see how the pre-dawn sky looked against the Chugiach Mountains (Anchorage, AK, 61°N; there are always a chance at this time of the year to catch aurora activity... too late in night but looked anyway). The clouds parted and there was a glowing sphere there! Brighter than anything else. Were there two glowing orbs?!!

Instead of jumping on the "I saw a strange l light in the sky... UFO!! ALIENS!!!" tract of thought, slow down, think. Venus is called "The Morning Star" in the fall. In spring time it is known as "The Evening Star" as it rises just after sunset. This factoid comes from none other The Bard himself as he used it to set his plays (time of year) for the audience.

A quick check and sure enough, there were two orbs of light in the sky: Mars and Venus. In a couple days, they will be very close!

So you skywatchers here on ATS, October 5 is the date. But you can catch a great show even now!

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

Cool. Need a clear horizon view...

earthsky.org

a reply to: intrptr

The clouds parted for me this morning so got a sneak peak!

It has been overcast and grim for four or five days. I hope this is not my only glimpse!

When Venus is on one side of the Sun, it’s trailing the Sun in the sky and brightens into view shortly after the Sun sets, when the sky is dark enough for it to be visible. When Venus is at its brightest, it becomes visible just minutes after the Sun goes down. This is when Venus is seen as the Evening Star.

When Venus is on the other side of the Sun, it leads the Sun as it travels across the sky. Venus will rise in the morning a few hours before the Sun.

UniverseToday.com - Venus, the Morning Star and Evening Star.

That is a general description. Venus and Mercury orbit inside of the earth's orbit which causes this. At first, only Venus was called either Morning or Evening Star but it has spread to other planets when their orbits coincide with sunrise or sunset.

I've been admiring Venus while walking my dog for a few weeks now. A little to late to see Mars though, too much sunlight.

Venus is called "The Morning Star" in the fall. In spring time it is known as "The Evening Star" as it rises just after sunset.

I'm afraid she doesn't keep a seasonal schedule. She switches positions with the Sun on a 584 day cycle.

When at maximum elongation (from the Sun), Venus can be seen in daylight. If you know exactly where to look.

a reply to: Phage

Something like 5 years, right? Reading about this and kind of realized some gross generalizations on my part! Kids, do your homework! I'm just pointing out that it is a good time to watch the sky to catch a good show (weather permitting); full details, always refer to either software, books, and those more knowledgeable!

Also sorry to those in the lower southern hemisphere!

Hey, Phage? Can you talk about the time you saw Venus in the daylight? You mentioned that once but I don't think we ever heard rest of the story. Now would be a good time. Pleeeezzz!

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF
19 months.

I've managed it a couple of times, actually. The tricky part (excluding the weather) is knowing exactly where (within a couple of degrees) to look. Once your eye catches it you can see the tiny shiny spot in the sky, but it's easy to miss. Next chance will be next August, I think.

If you don't have Stellarium, get it.

a reply to: Phage

I remember once in college we were told about it by some guys tracking one of the Voyagers (I think, a whole lifetime ago. UAF was one of the backup tracking stations for some probe flying by one of the gas giants). I think I saw it; a fuzzy dot that looked like the moon but further away. I really didn't think that was it but the next chance I asked and was shown a photo one had taken... looked the same and was in the same direction I was looking.

Stellarium? Is that one with George Clooney? LOL. Will do. Would beat having to google things. I could just point my phone at it and do the whole GPS tracking thing and know right away what I was looking at!

I've seen Venus a squintillion times over the Chugiach so had a good idea what it was off the bat. This was all before coffee!

Saw it this morning, though I had to dodge some clouds. These old eyes could not see Mars unaided, though binoculars showed it well. The difference in brightness between the two was huge. Through a 50x telescope I could resolve Venus as a disc, but not Mars. They looked neat in the 0.5° field-of-view.

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

I missed the Oct 5 morning show, so I will try to catch the Oct. 16 & 17th show.

For us laypeople.

a reply to: Saint Exupery

Awesome! Glad someone got to see. The clouds have come back and will be until next week. GAH!

a reply to: InTheLight

We are almost to winter here (like snow fall, on the ground until next spring) which means overcast skies. Lots of wind and rain. I was not too sure that I would catch the main show of this morning. You can still see a good show for a couple days afterwards but they are moving apart.

Check it out if you can! Even just Venus is a sight!

New Conjunction, Nov. 13.

I looked up this morning to see if Venus was still visible.

Lo and behold! There is another planet sitting next to it!

Checking SpaceWeather.com, (has a pic taken from Tucson, AZ, showing this morning's conjunction), turns out the object is Jupiter. It was fairly faint, above and to the right a bit (actual distance is 0.3 degrees) but still a sight to behold!

The gift that keeps giving! Thanks Venus!