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
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.
Observing
Watch planets Venus and Jupiter converge in the June evening sky
Planet Venus — the brilliant lantern hanging over the west-northwest horizon at dusk — reaches its greatest elongation from the Sun on June 6th. It’s still a month away from reaching peak brightness, but before then it has a spectacular close conjunction with largest planet Jupiter at the end of June.