AstronomyVenus superior conjunction: Venus starts going behind the sun...

Venus superior conjunction: Venus starts going behind the sun today

-

- Advertisment -


'; } else { echo "Sorry! You are Blocked from seeing the Ads"; } ?>
Venus is passing behind the sun in the present day and tomorrow (June 3 and 4)! SOHO’s LASCO C2 captured Venus about to move behind the sun (or, on this case, behind the spacecraft imagery gear’s sun-occulter). The occultation of Venus behind the sun – the “anti-transit” – will begin round 14 UTC (9 a.m. central) on June 3 as seen by SOHO’s LASCO 2 imager. Venus will take many hours to go to its deepest level behind the sun. It’ll be most deeply behind the sun on June 4. In the meantime, Venus will attain its “superior conjunction” – when it and the sun have the identical “right ascension” – that’s, the identical east-west coordinate on the sky’s dome as seen by us on Earth – at round 16 UTC on June 4. Picture by way of SOHO

Venus superior conjunction June 4

Venus is the brightest planet we see. It orbits the sun one step nearer than Earth. So it stays close to the sun in our sky and is commonly referred to as the morning “star” or the night “star.” When it’s up, you’ll be able to spot Venus simply. And it’ll catch your eye if it’s close to a crescent moon. However the place is Venus now? On June 3 and 4, it’s passing immediately behind the sun.

Previous to early June 2024, Venus spent over eight months as a stunning morning “star.” It reached greatest elongation – its biggest obvious distance from the sun in our sky – on October 23, 2023. It hung low within the east earlier than dawn for a lot of months, earlier than slipping away within the morning daylight in early April. For the previous couple of months, it’s been too near the sun to see. Venus is now touring behind the sun as seen from Earth. It’ll attain its superior conjunction – reaching the identical east-west coordinate because the sun in our sky – at 16 UTC (11 a.m. central) on June 4, 2024.

And, at this 2024 superior conjunction, Venus is passing behind the sun as seen from Earth! See the picture above.

Venus involves a superior conjunction each 584 days. Often, it passes above or beneath the sun in our sky. At each superior conjunction, Venus strikes from our morning sky to our night sky. We are able to’t see Venus now, initially of June 2024. Nevertheless it’ll emerge into our night sky in mid- to late summer time. At the moment, it’ll seem as a shiny mild within the western night twilight: the glittering night “star.”

When will you see Venus within the night? Probably as early as mid-July, and definitely (assuming you’ve a transparent jap horizon) by late July or early August. It’ll be simpler to identify from Earth’s Southern Hemisphere than for us within the north. For all of us, Venus will ascend gradually in the evening twilight all through July and August, 2024. General, at this night apparition, it’ll spend about eight months as a superb mild within the night sky. It’ll disappear once more, passing again into the sun’s glare (in entrance of the sun this time) in March, 2025.

Venus superior conjunction on June 4.
Venus has been invisible in our sky, crossing the sky with the sun, for some weeks. On June 4, 2024, Venus may have the identical right ascension – the identical east-west coordinate in our sky – in our sky. We name that time a superior conjunction. Venus often passes above or beneath the sun in our sky at superior conjunction. However at this 2024 superior conjunction of Venus, the planet will move behind the sun as seen from Earth. Chart by way of EarthSky.

Venus behind the sun

Throughout this superior conjunction of Venus, the planet gained’t simply move close to the sun in our sky. It’ll go briefly behind the sun as seen from Earth. That’s, the sun will occult or move in entrance of Venus. Based on Guy Ottewell in his 2024 Astronomical Calendar:

It ascends by the ecliptic aircraft on June 6, (2024), in order that on the superior conjunction – solely a day and a half earlier – it’s truly occulted by the sun.

When will you subsequent see Venus?

Venus will emerge within the western night twilight in mid- to late July. However, as seen from Earth’s Northern Hemisphere, it’ll be setting lower than an hour after the sun by month’s finish. Fortunately, Venus is the brightest planet, so that you may be capable to spot it low on the horizon. In mid- to late July, search for it about half-hour after sundown. It’s so shiny, it’ll present even within the shiny night twilight.

In August, Venus will change into simpler to identify. It’ll be greatest in 2024 from October by the top of the yr. Sadly for us within the Northern Hemisphere, the autumn months will function the ecliptic – or path of the sun, moon and planets – making a slim angle with the western night horizon. So, round October, November and December, Venus’ distance from the sun will probably be largely sideways with respect to the sun alongside our western horizon, not up above the sun.

However that can change as 2025 opens. Venus will attain greatest elongation – its biggest obvious distant from the sun – on February 4, 2025. And by then the ecliptic will probably be starting to seem extra perpendicular with respect to the sundown. So Venus will probably be respectably excessive within the sky, even from the northern half of Earth’s globe.

Be sure you look ahead to Venus within the weeks round February 15, 2025, when it’ll be heading for one more greatest brilliancy in our sky.

It’ll disappear from view within the night not lengthy after that, going between the Earth and sun.

Pictures of Venus

On Might 22, 2024, LASCO C3 exhibits Jupiter and Venus getting nearer for his or her planetary conjunction on Might 23, 2024. This animation is from the attitude of the imagery gear aboard the SOHO spacecraft. Venus is racing towards its conjunction with the sun, whereas Jupiter is racing away from the sun to ascend within the morning twilight by the start of June. Picture by way of NOAA.
Composite of Venus phases, February 2023 to August 2023.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Vedant Pandey wrote: “I’m Vedant Pandey, a 17-year-old beginner astrophotographer from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. I photographed Venus because it appeared within the night sky in February, 2023. And listed here are the phases of Venus, from waxing gibbous in February to its crescent phase in August, as seen by my telescope.” Wow! Thanks, Vedant!

Backside line: Venus reaches superior conjunction – passing between the sun and Earth – at 16 UTC on June 4, 2024, (11 a.m. CDT).



Source link

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Latest news

See 6 planets in late August and early September

See 6 planets earlier than dawn Possibly you’ve already seen Jupiter and Mars within the morning sky? They’re simply...

Voyager 2: Our 1st and last visit to Neptune

Reprinted from NASA. Voyager 2 passes by Neptune, 35 years in the past Thirty-five years in the past, on August...

Polaris, the North Star, has spots on its surface

Polaris, the North Star, was the topic of observations by the CHARA Array in California. Polaris is a variable...
- Advertisement -spot_imgspot_img

Understanding extreme weather with Davide Faranda

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRtLAk8z0ngBe part of us LIVE at 12:15 p.m. CDT (17:15 UTC) Monday, August 26, 2024, for a YouTube...

Must read

- Advertisement -spot_imgspot_img

You might also likeRELATED
Recommended to you