11/08/2021 – Ephemeris – The next two months will be prime time to view Venus in a telescope

This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Monday, November 8th. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 51 minutes, setting at 5:21, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:32. The Moon, 3 days before first quarter, will set at 8:37 this evening.

Venus is beginning to look like the crescent Moon in telescopes. Right now it’s a very fat crescent. The reason is that since its greatest separation from the Sun a bit more than a week ago, Venus’ sunlit side is more and more turned away from us as it starts to move between the Earth and Sun. Venus is also rapidly approaching us now and is 54.9 million miles (88.3 million kilometers) away. A month from now it will appear larger than Jupiter, so Venus’ thinning crescent might be glimpsed in binoculars. Venus’ size will grow and crescent will get even thinner until it passes between the Earth and Sun, which will occur January 8th next year. That’s called inferior conjunction with the Sun. From our vantage point, it will pass just north of the Sun, and a week or so later will be seen in the morning sky.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT – 5 hours). They may be different for your location.

Addendum

Animated GIF of Venus’ last 2 months in the evening sky, November 8, 2021, to January 8, 2022. After mid-December the crescent is too thin to show in the program, but can actually be seen. I’ve spotted Venus as close as 4 days before inferior conjunction. Created using Stellarium and Filmora.