For those that didn't know, Venus is near peak-brightness in the early
morning, about an hour before sunrise. Jupiter rises shortly before the sun
(still visible!) and Mars is about halfway between them.
Yesterday morning I wanted to catch Mars as it swung about a degree east
of Regulus in Leo, but I couldn't help but be distracted by Venus. Through
my 4.5" scope at about 40x, Venus appeared as a crisp white crescent in a
deep blue field.
In the attached image you can see Venus in the upper right, Jupiter in the
lower left, and Mars hanging out with Regulus almost exactly half way
between the two brighter planets.
Bring on the winter constellations!
Nick
Attachment:
venus-mars-jupiter.jpg
Description: JPEG image
