This week we see Venus in the morning sky, as its inferior conjunction occurred on the 25th. We now see it as a slim crescent with the illuminated side facing
East, as Venus is now to the west of the Sun. The crescent shape is easily seen in binoculars or a small telescope, and can even be seen with the unaided eye! Look for Venus low in the east as it's just starting to get light. Refer the the drawings and photo below:
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| Telescopic View |
If this isn't excitement enough, there is a supernova in the morning too! It is in the galaxy
NGC 5643, in the constellation Lupus, the wolf. It shines around 10th
magnitude, so it is in reach of a modest telescope. Use the charts
below, generated in
The SkyX First Light Edition, the find the
galaxy and supernova. Keep in mind that the Supernova will not be
visible from latitudes farther north than about 40 degrees. Observe the
Supernova around 3:00 AM daylight saving time.
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| Unaided eye view |
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| Finderscope view |
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| Telescopic View (red circle is Spuernova location) |
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All in all, you don't want to miss this week's sky events!
