Venus at greatest elongation west

Venus will appear bright and well placed for observation in the morning sky.

Venus is always close to the Sun in the sky since its orbit lies closer to the Sun than the Earth’s. On this day, however, it will reach its furthest point to the west of the Sun, meaning that it will rise more than two hours ahead of the Sun, appearing prominent at mag -5.1 on the eastern horizon for a couple of hours before sunrise.

At the moment of greatest elongation, Venus will lie in the constellation Aquarius, at a distance of 46°33′ from the Sun. Its declination will be -14°18’35” , and so it will be seen to best advantage in the southern hemisphere.