The waning crescent moon and the blazing planet Venus adorn the wee hours before sunrise on Friday, October 16. If you’re up before dawn, try to spot the soft, pale light on the nighttime side of the moon with the unaided eye or binoculars. That ashen glow is earthshine – sunlight that’s reflected from Earth and back to the moon.

The northern hemisphere has the advantage over the southern hemisphere for watching the moon and Venus show for the next few mornings. As seen from mid-northern latitudes in North America, the moon and Venus are both up about one and three-quarter hours before sunrise. But at temperate latitudes south of the the equator – like in South America – the moon and Venus climb above the horizon less than one hour before the sun.

The reason why the northern latitudes see Venus sooner before sunrise is because it’s autumn in this part of the world. The pathway of the sun, moon and planets – otherwise known as the ecliptic – arcs way up high on autumn mornings. Because it’s now spring in the southern hemisphere, the ecliptic follows a low path across their October morning sky.

Two planets flank Venus tomorrow morning. In fact, Venus and Saturn appear in the same binocular field together, but your best bet for catching Saturn is to look for this world before the onset of dawn. To locate Mercury, draw a line from Saturn and past the left side of Venus, going about 3 times the Saturn/Venus distance. If you’re lucky, you may catch Mercury by the horizon with binoculars about 60 to 45 minutes before sunrise.

Rising times of the sun, moon and planets into your sky

Written by Bruce McClure

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