Venus is the brightest planet in Earth’s sky, and it’s now a blazing light in the west after sunset. It orbits the sun one step inward from Earth. And that’s why, when we gaze at Venus through a telescope, we sometimes see the planet show phases, like a tiny, featureless moon. Venus reached its greatest elongation or greatest apparent distance from the sun on January 12, 2017. At such times, it appears as a tiny half moon through a telescope. Between mid-January and late March – when Venus will pass more or less between Earth and the sun, those watching through telescopes will see Venus decrease in phase. Keep an eye on this page … we’ll post more images as we see them come in!
Bottom line: Photos of waning Venus, January to March 2017.
Deborah Byrd created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. Today, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of this website. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. In 2020, she won the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society, the largest organization of professional astronomers in North America. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.
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