05/17/2018 – Ephemeris – Venus and the Moon tonight and viewing Venus in the daytime

Ephemeris for Thursday, May 17th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 54 minutes, setting at 9:06, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:11. The Moon, 2 days past new, will set at 11:40 this evening.

This afternoon at 2:11 the Moon will appear to pass Venus. This will be impossible to see since the Moon is going to be much dimmer than Venus. Venus can indeed be seen in the daylight. I’ve seen it many times with binoculars or a telescope, but only once with the naked eye. The latter time was not long before sunset. It is essential that to spot Venus in the daytime by any of these means that one is in the shade, by putting the Sun behind a building, and knowing where Venus is supposed to be using a program on a smart phone. By tonight the Moon will have moved eastward past Venus by up to 13 of its diameters and will also be displaying earthshine, the reflection of the Earth off its night side.

The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.

Addendum

Venus and the Moon at 10 p.m. May 17, 2018. Created using Stellarium.