Astroblog

Venus and the Moon at 16:20, 1 hr 24 minutes before sunset. 10x zoom.  Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra ƒ/3.4 1/5001sec exposure  18.6 mm ISO32;	Venus and the Moon at 16:21, 1 hr 23 minutes before sunset. 30x zoom.  Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra ƒ/3.4 1/453 sec exposure  18.6 mm ISO32;	Venus and the Moon at 17:29,  10 minutes before sunset. 30x zoom.  Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra ƒ/3.4 1/100 sec exposure  18.6 mm ISO40;
Venus and the Moon at 18:51,  1 hr 7 minutes after sunset. 30x zoom.  Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra ƒ/3.4 1/100 sec exposure  18.6 mm ISO80;	Venus and the Moon at 19:40,  1 hr 56 minutes after sunset. 30x zoom.  Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra ƒ/3.4 1/100 sec exposure  18.6 mm ISO100;	Venus and the Moon at 20:37,  2 hr 53 minutes after sunset. 30x zoom. Cloud cover.  Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra ƒ/3.4 1/17 sec exposure  18.6 mm ISO2000;

Venus is approaching maximum brightness, so it is now visible during the daylight if you know where to look. On the 16th crescent Moon was about two finger-widths beside the crescent Moon, and was an excellent opportunity for finding Venus in the daylight. I was able to see, and image, Venus near the moon despite some cloud interference. Form about an hour before sunset on. You will have another chance to See Venus in the daylight near the Moon on 14 September. 

Not only that, I had the opportunity to show the relative motion of Venus and the Moon. We tend not to notice the relatively rapid movement on the Moon during the night, not many people are out looking at the sky for hours on end. Only when the Moon is close to a very bright star or planet do we sometime take notice. 

The Moon, which moves ~13.2 degrees every 24 hours,  roughly 2.2 degrees over the period I was imaging.  Alternatively ~ 4 lunar diameters, Venus moves on average ~1.2 degrees per day so the relative motion is easy to observe over a few hours. One of the more strange Flat Earth claims is that the Moon and planets move in lockstep. This is clearly wrong, as the above images show, and planetary occultations couldn't happen like the daytime occultation of Jupiter on November 3. 

Again, with The Moon close to Venus on 14 September you will also have a chance to document the Moon's movement with respect to Venus, and again on the 18th September you will have a chance to see the Moon move with respect to the bright star Antares (some states will see an occultation). 

On 2 September, when Venus is close to Spica, If you watch Venus between nautical twilight and Venus set through strong binoculars or a telescope (see chart to the left)  You may be able to catch Venus moving with respect to Spica. 

Mars moves a bit slower,  ~ 0.5242 degrees per day (roughly a lunar diameter), but on 25 February you can see it move 8 arc minutes with respect to eta Leo from astronomical twilight to astronomical twilight on the 26th. You will need a telescope for this (and great patience and mosquito repellent. 

The reason there is a gap between images at 17:29 and18:31 is I used my 8" Newtonian to take images of Venus close up. Venus is now just becoming crescent shaped. In the coming days it will become bigger ad more clearly crescent shaped. Hopefully the weather will be kind to me an let me get some more shots. Below is all the images I have managed between July 9 and August 16. 

Venus on July 9 using my 8" Newtonian, ASI224MC and 2x Barlow. Clear half moon shape.	Venus on 1 August using my 8" Newtonian, ASI224MC and 2x Barlow. Clear half moon shape and visibly larger.	Venus on 16 August using my 8" Newtonian, ASI224MC and 2x Barlow. Now approaching crescent phase and a bit larger still.

Labels: Moon, Venus

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 10:04 pm 4 comments

Western horizon as seen from Adelaide on Sunday  16 August at 5:25  pm, 20 minutes before sunset. Venus is about two finger-widths beside the crescent Moon. Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia 20 min before local sunset (click to embiggen)	10x50 Binocular view of the pair on Sunday  16 August at 5:25  pm.  (click to embiggen)

While regular readers of this blog know that I'm obsessed with seeing Venus in the daytime. I haven't posted about it for some time. But an excellent opportunity arises this Sunday. 

Venus is currently bright enough (-4.3) to see during the daylight. However, finding a bright dot in the vast amount of blue can be challenging. It is easier to locate Venus if there is a handy foreground object nearby to use as reference. The Moon is such an object, fairly easy to spot making it a handy guide. 

On the 16th crescent Moon is about two finger-widths beside the crescent Moon, an excellent opportunity for finding Venus in the daylight.

Look for the thin crescent Moon, and Venus should be visible as a bright dot just to the left of it. The images above should help locate it. It's best to look in the afternoon when the Sun is low and the sky is less bright. Make sure the Sun is hidden behind something solid like a building or a wall when you are looking for Venus, not trees or your hand. Exposing your eyes directly to the glare of the Sun can be very dangerous and you could potentially lose your sight.

You may need to use binoculars at first to pick up Venus near the moon, but once you have spotted it it will be obvious (again make sure you practice sun safety when observing with binoculars).

I used a corner of the house and pergola to shut out the Sun and frame the Moon-Venus combination for previous daylight Venus adventures.

You may also use mobile phone apps such as Google sky map to locate the Moon and Venus in the vasty blue.

If you miss this opportunity, locate Venus around half an hour after Sunset, and find a convenient marker (a tree, a telephone pole or something like that) close by to Venus from a fixed position in your yard. Note the relative position of Venus and features on the marker. Next day, go to your viewing position about 5 minutes after Sunset and again note Venus's location. The next day, look 5 minutes before Sunset and note the location. And so on until you can see Venus well before Sunset.

Do remember to be very careful not to look directly at the Sun when doing all of this. Chose your viewing location so that the Sun will be hidden well behind some solid object at all of your projected viewing times.

Good luck Venus hunting.

Labels: Daylight, Daytime, Moon, unaided eye, Venus

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 12:19 pm 0 comments

North-western sky on the evening of Saturday, February 28 as seen from Adelaide at 20:20 ACDST (30 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).	Western sky on the evening of Saturday, February 28 as seen from Los Angeles at 18:29 local time (30 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).

Despite a variety of claims on the internet, you won't be able to see all 6 planets lined up on February 28, 2026 (UPDATE).

The good news is that they are lined up. The bad news is that they are too deep in the twilight to see. 

At civil twilight, 30 minutes after sunset, if you have a clear, level, unobstructed horizon, Mercury, Venus, Saturn and Neptune are invisible in the twilight glow (Mercury has set in the southern hemisphere), as is Uranus. Jupiter *might* just be visible. 

Venus may be visible in binoculars (or if you have very good eyesight) in the Northern hemisphere low in the twilight if the horizon conditions are clear. UDPATE: In some places in the Northern hemisphere, Venus may be high enough to see at nautical twilight. Daniel Fischer was able to image it at nautical twilight in Bochum in the EU https://scicomm.xyz/@cosmos4u/116133837700056539 .

60 minutes later at astronomical twilight, when the sky is darker, Venus and Saturn have set (well they are right on the horizon in the Northern Hemisphere and still is high in some places see update above) and Uranus will be just visible in binoculars (Jupiter will be well visible).

Labels: lineup, Mercury, Neptune, public outreach, Saturn, Venus

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 7:32 am 2 comments

The table below shows significant astronomical events that can be seen with the unaided eye or minimal equipment in 2026 in Australia (and to some degree elsewhere in the Southern Hemisphere, occultations and eclipses are very region specific). 

This year we get a good Total Lunar eclipse visible Australia wide and at a good time in the evening so all can watch. There are good oppositions of Jupiter and Saturn and a daytime occultation of Jupiter and some nice occultations of Antares.

As well we have some fantastic parings and lineups and good meteor showers.

Close pairings of the Moon and bright planets are given special attention as not only is the Moon a ready guide to locating the planets if you are not familiar with them, these massings are rather beautiful. 

Special events are bolded. T indicates a telescope only event. As well as apogee and perigee moons I have also included times when the Lunar X is visible at First Quarter. 

Labels: Asteroid, Conjunction, eclipse, Jupiter, Mars, Moon, Opposition, Saturn, unaided eye, Venus, Yearly Sky Events

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 3:06 pm 2 comments

 You may have seen the rather breathless statements about the up coming planetary lineup (or planet parade) often illustrated with telescope images of the planets all rather close together and claiming 6-7 planets will be present in the evening sky. 

While this is (mostly) true, you won't see anything like the illustrations. The hype distracts from what is a beautiful phenomenon.The planets, only 4 of which are bright dots, are strung out from west to east along the ecliptic like beads on a wire, Jupiter and Mars are bright and in some beautiful night sky territory. 

I have some charts and spotting tips below to help you enjoy this without the hype.

Evening sky on Saturday, January 18 as seen from Adelaide at 21:34 ACDST (60 minutes after sunset, Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time, click to embiggen)	Evening sky on Saturday, January 25 as seen from Adelaide at 21:30 ACDST (60 minutes after sunset, Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time, click to embiggen)	Evening sky on Friday, February 28 as seen from Adelaide at 20:20 ACDST (30 minutes after sunset, Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time, click to embiggen)
Orientation of the inner planets on Saturday, January 18 as seen from above the plane of the solar system	Orientation of the inner planets on Saturday, January 25 as seen from above the plane of the solar system	Orientation of the inner planets on Friday, February 28 as seen from above the plane of the solar system
Orientation of the outer planets on Saturday, January 18 as seen from above the plane of the solar system	Orientation of the outer planets on Saturday, January 25 as seen from above the plane of the solar system	Orientation of the outer planets on Friday, February 28 as seen from above the plane of the solar system

Basically, you can only see 4 of the 6-7 with your unaided eye, and rather than all being scrunched up close together, they are spread out over most of the sky from west to north-east.

From the 18th of January to mid February,  face west, looking 60 minutes after sunset. Venus is obvious above the western horizon as the brightest object in the sky. Much dimmer Saturn is a spark just above obvious Venus. Turning to the north the next brightest object is golden Jupiter, the second brightest object in the sky after Venus, just below bright red star Aldebaran and the "V" of the Hyades, not far from the delightful Pleiades cluster. Then looking towards the north east, bright red Mars, just past opposition and the third brightest object in the sky, just edging out the bright star Sirius, is lined up with the pair of stars Castor and Pollux, in Gemini. Neptune is telescope visible only and will be difficult to see low on the horizon (see charts above). 

The black and white chart suitable for printing shows the location of Uranus, the circle is the approximate field of view of 10x50 binoculars.

The best times to look are between 60 minutes (nautical twilight) and 90 minutes (astronomical twilight, when the sky is fully dark) after sunset, and it helps if you have a clear and level western horizon. Although Venus and Saturn set about 30 minutes or so after astronomical twilight, ~ 2 hours after sunset, trees and houses tend to get in the way. 

You should be able to see this lineup from now until around 15 February, when Saturn is too low in the twilight to see (although you should be able to see it with binoculars). 

After January the 18th, Saturn draws away from Saturn as the pair lower in the evening twilight. On February the first the crescent Moon is between Saturn and the obvious bright Venus low above the western horizon 60 minutes after sunset. The Moon then goes on to visit all the bright planets in turn over the next few days, this will look very nice . Venus is at its greatest brilliance on the 15th of February. 

Although Jupiter and Mars move somewhat over this time they will be roughly where they are on the 18th of January, although Mars is fading rapidly.

Mercury Joins the line up around February the 15th, making 7 planets present, but is hard to see very low in the twilight. By Feb 28 Mercury is higher, but it, Saturn and Neptune are too deep in the twilight to see, and Venus is marginal. Binoculars will be required to see Mercury, and possibly Venus, which is now a thin crescent. 

So ignore the hype and head out in the early evening to enjoy the sight as well the constellation of Orion and bright Sirius  in Canis Major are there to look at too.

Labels: alignment, binocular, Jupiter, Mars, public outreach, Saturn, unaided eye, Venus

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 1:12 pm 0 comments

The Total Lunar Eclipse of September 8, 2025 as seen at 03:30 AEST, the inset is the approximate binocular view at this time. Similar view will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (detailed tables will be available before hand). Click to embiggen.

The table below shows significant astronomical events that can be seen with the unaided eye or minimal equipment in 2025 in Australia (and to some degree elsewhere in the Southern Hemisphere, ocultations and eclipses are very region specific). 

This year we get a good Total Lunar eclipse visible Australia wide. We get multiple occultations of the bright star Antares. There are good oppositions of Mars and Saturn. Comet C/20024 G3 ATLAS may be visible low in the evening twilight at the end of January, if it survives its passage around the Sun.

As well we have some fantastic parings and lineups and good meteor showers (although the moon is a pest).

Close pairings of the Moon and bright planets are given special attention as not only is the Moon a ready guide to locating the planets if you are not familiar with them, these massings are rather beautiful. 

Special events are bolded. T indicates a telescope only event. As well as apogee and perigee moons I have also included times when the Lunar X is visible at First Quarter.

Labels: Asteroid, Conjunction, eclipse, Jupiter, Mars, Moon, Opposition, Saturn, unaided eye, Venus, Yearly Sky Events

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 2:15 pm 0 comments

ISS as seen from Adelaide on the evening of  Wednesday 25 December at 22:09 ACDST. Simulated in Stellarium. Click to embiggen.	ISS  as seen from Melbourne on the evening of  Wednesday 25 December at 22:28 AEDST. Simulated in Stellarium (the ISS will actually be a bright dot). Click to embiggen.	ISS as seen from Perth on the evening of  Wednesday 25 December at 21:12 AWST. Simulated in Stellarium (the ISS will actually be a bright dot). Click to embiggen.
All sky chart showing local times from Heavens Above for Wednesday 25 December for Adelaide.	All sky chart showing local  times from Heavens Above for Wednesday 25 December for Melbourne.	All sky chart showing local times from Heavens Above for Wednesday 25 Decemberfor Perth.

Over the next few days most of Australia will see some very nice bright passes of the ISS, some passing bright stars or Venus or Jupiter. For most of Australia (sorry Darwin and Brisbane) there is a very nice pass on Christmas day. 

The following tables are from data provided from Heavens Above.

Passes from Adelaide (ACDST/ACST) 

Passes from Brisbane (AEST) 

Passes from Darwin (ACST) 

Passes from Hobart (AEDST/AEST)  

Passes from Melbourne (AEDST/AEST) 

Passes from Perth (AWST) 

Passes from Sydney (AEDST/AEST) 

When and what you will see is VERY location dependent, so you need to use  Heavens Above  to get site specific predictions for your location, a small difference in location can mean the difference between ISS passing over the Moon or a planet or missing it completely. 

As always, start looking several minutes before the pass is going to start to get yourself oriented and your eyes dark adapted. Be patient, there may be slight differences in the time of the ISS appearing due to orbit changes not picked up by the predictions. Use the most recent prediction for your site.

Labels: ISS, Satellite, unaided eye, Venus

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 12:45 am 0 comments