Right Now Is Your Best Chance To Spot A Dazzling Venus During The Day
The timing of two cosmic events will present skywatchers with a great opportunity to see Venus in the daytime sky on Friday, if weather conditions are good.
Venus is the third brightest natural object in the sky, behind the sun and the moon. Even though Venus is very bright, it's not always easy to find in the daytime sky.
But on Dec. 6, Venus shines at its brightest, with a brightness magnitude of -4.9. Brighter stars have lower magnitude numbers. The brightest stars in sky are a magnitude 1, while the full moon is a magnitude -12.7, for example.
What also makes this event special is that the moon will get very close to Venus, acting as a guide for the eye, and making our sister planet easy to spot.
On Thursday, Dec. 5, Venus slipped just 8 degrees below the crescent moon. If you're looking up at the sky that distance is "slightly closer together than the span of your palm held at arm's length," writes David Dickinson at Universe Today.
To find Venus look toward the southwestern sky. Space.com says the planet will be at its brightest at 2 p.m. EST.