Venus: Luminous Duet of Conjunction With Waxing Crescent Moon

Summary: Bright Venus forms a luminous duet with the waxing crescent moon in late April.

Venus and the Moon: gerlos, CC BY SA 2.0, via Flickr

As the second planet from the sun, Venus is Earth’s nearest planetary neighbor.

Despite its alluring name, Venus seems hostile to life as Earthlings know it. Thick clouds of toxic sulfur dioxide enshroud the planet’s surface. Carbon dioxide comprises over 96 percent of the Venusian atmosphere.

Even though Mercury is closer to the sun, Venus holds the record as the hottest planet in the solar system. The greenhouse effect of carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere and sulfur dioxide clouds accounts for an average temperature of 864 degrees Fahrenheit (462 degrees Celsius).

In the sky, Venus sparkles as the third brightest object in the solar system. Only the sun and the moon outshine Earth’s sister planet.

The waxing crescent moon is the second phase in the eight-phase monthly cycle traced by the moon in its orbit around the Earth. The waxing crescent refutes the generally dark invisibility of its predecessor, the new moon, through increasing illuminations of the lunar disk, as viewed by Earthlings. The waxing crescent waxes, or increases, the moon’s percentage of illumination in a range from 1 to 49 percent.

The side of the moon that is lit during the two waxing phases of waxing crescent and waxing gibbous varies according to viewing location on Earth. In the Northern Hemisphere, light spotlights the right side of the lunar disk during waxing phases. In the Southern Hemisphere, light spotlights the left side during waxing phases.

Venus forms a complementary duet in the celestial extravaganza of conjunction with the moon in its phase as waxing crescent in late April 2015. Since succeeding April's new moon, the waxing crescent is enjoying a handful of days in viewing proximity to the Venusian silvery grace. In the darkening western sky, the moon and Venus radiate with easy visibility from their high perches.

On Tuesday, April 21, the glorious show -- with Venus poised slightly higher and to the moon's right -- unexpectedly caught my attention around 9 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (1 a.m. Coordinated Universal Time).

Triple conjunction of Aldebaran + moon + Venus: An extra treat was the glowing red visibility of Aldebaran, a giant orange star in the constellation of Taurus the Bull, at a hand's distance directly below the waxing crescent.

Bright Venus (lower center), reflected in the Pacific Ocean, outshines Jupiter (upper center); Nov. 15, 2008: Brocken Inaglory, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Una giovane Luna avvicina Venere al tramonto ~ Suggestiva congiunzione tra la Luna e Venere, tra i rami di alberi di eucalipto (A young moon approaches Venus at sunset ~ striking conjunction between the moon and Venus through the branches of eucalyptus trees), March 26, 2012: gerlos, CC BY SA 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/gerlos/7022488067/

Bright Venus (lower center), reflected in the Pacific Ocean, outshines Jupiter (upper center); Nov. 15, 2008: Brocken Inaglory, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Venus-pacific-levelled.jpg

For further information:

Marriner, Derdriu. "Waxing Crescent Moon: Second Lunar Phase Shows Off Craters Through Binoculars." Earth and Space News. Saturday, March 21, 2015.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/03/waxing-crescent-moon-second-lunar-phase.html