Venus is seen next to the crescent moon during the daytime, prior to the start of occultation, on 7 December 2015 in Washington, D.C. in the United States. The moon occulted, or passed in front of, Venus for the second time this year.
Observing
See the Moon hide a trio of Hyades stars at dawn on 24 August
Have you ever seen the Moon hide a star? If you’re an early riser in the UK with a small telescope on Saturday, 24 August 2019 then you can potentially witness the disappearance and reappearance of three naked-eye stars in the Hyades open star cluster of Taurus between 3:40am BST and shortly after sunrise.
Observing
Venus and the Moon guide you to Comet Catalina in the pre-dawn sky
Comet Catalina (C/2013 US10) is currently a morning object in Virgo low in the southeast before dawn twilight for UK observers. The comet has a photogenic close encounter with Venus and the waning crescent Moon on the mornings of 7—8 December, then rapidly heads north through the constellation Boötes for a closer brush with Arcturus on New Year’s Day.
News
“Electric wind” can strip Earth-like planets of oceans and atmospheres
The space environment around a planet plays a key role in determining what molecules exist in the atmosphere – and whether the planet is habitable for life. New research shows that Venus has an “electric wind” strong enough to remove the components of water from its upper atmosphere, which may have played a significant role in stripping Earth’s twin planet of its oceans.