Venus and Saturn are still putting on a spectacle in the night sky.
On Tuesday evening (Jan. 24), the pair will remain quite close together in the night sky following their lead union on Sunday (Jan. 22) . Unlike the weekend’s conjunction, however, the two planets are joined tonight by a guest: the crescent moon.
This evening, just after sunset, be sure to look west-southwest to see the trio in the sky. The moon will be some 12 degrees higher than Venus and Saturn, which will both be sitting fairly low in the sky at around 18 and 16 degrees, respectively. Don’t wait too long to catch the trio — from New York City, Venus will sink below the horizon by around 6:46 pm local time, while Saturn will disappear around 6:45 pm, according to In-The-Sky.org (opens in new tab) .
Related: Venus will steal the show in the night sky throughout 2023
The moon is currently in a waxing crescent phase following January’s new moon. The illuminated face of the moon will continue to grow leading up until the next phase of the moon, first quarter, which will occur on Jan. 28.
Neptune will also be well-situated for viewing, since it will hang above the moon on Tuesday (Jan. 24). From New York City, Neptune will be just around 7 degrees above the moon at 7 pm EST (0000 GMT) before both objects set below the horizon as 11 pm (0400 GMT on Jan. 25) approaches. The planet should be viewable through most telescopes or even some skywatching binoculars.
An illustration of the night sky on Jan. 24 at 7:15 pm EST (0015 GMT on Jan. 25) showing Neptune in close proximity to the moon. (Image credit: Starry Night Software)
Venus will continue to put on a show throughout 2023 . On March 1, Venus and Jupiter will pass within less than one degree of each other during a conjunction. On June 4, Venus will be twice as bright as it is now when it reaches its greatest eastern elongation, and on July 7 it will reach an incredibly bright magnitude of -4.7. And later in the year, Venus will meet up with the moon on Nov. 9 in a lunar conjunction.
Saturn, meanwhile, will appear in opposition on Aug. 27 And he will make many close approaches to the moon throughout the year. By spring, it will be visible before dawn and will be visible in the early evening skies between September and December, according to Turn Left at Orion (opens in new tab) .
If you don’t have all the gear you need to see Venus or Saturn meet up with the crescent moon, our guides on the best telescopes and best binoculars are a great place to begin. If you’re looking to snap photos of Venus or anything else in the night sky, check out our guides on the best cameras for astrophotography and the best lenses for astrophotography.
Editor’s Note: If you take a great photo of Venus and Saturn alongside the crescent moon and would like to share it with Space.com’s readers, send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.
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