ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Two crescents hang out in the twilight the next couple of mornings: the Moon and the planet Venus. They’re quite low in the east at dawn. Venus is the “morning star.” It’s below the Moon tomorrow, but will be closer above the Moon on Saturday.
Venus and the Moon appear as crescents for the same reason – both of them are passing between Earth and the Sun. That means their daylit sides are facing the Sun, while we see mainly their nightsides – the Sun is lighting only a sliver of the hemisphere that’s facing Earth.
It’s obvious that the Moon is a crescent. But you need strong binoculars or a telescope to see Venus as one. If you take a close look, you’ll notice that Venus and the Moon are almost equally lit up – less than 10 percent of the visible surface is in sunlight tomorrow, with the rest in the dark.
Venus and the Moon are headed in opposite directions. The Moon is dropping toward the Sun in our sky. It will cross the line between Sun and Earth on Monday. It’ll be “new” then, beginning a new cycle of phases. Venus crossed that line two weeks ago, so it’s pulling higher into the morning sky. So the crescent will grow a little fatter day by day.
Even though we’re seeing mostly its nightside, Venus is quite bright. That’s because it’s closest to Earth about now, so it’s a big target. And it also reflects a lot of the sunlight that strikes it in our direction – adding to the luster of this beautiful crescent.
Script by Damond Benningfield
