Venus reaches greatest elongation west on October 26, 2015

The current long morning apparition of Venus reaches a peak on October 26th when it attains greatest western elongation. On this day the planet will be positioned 46 degrees from the Sun and visible for over 4 hours before sunrise at mid Northern Hemisphere latitudes, although only about half as long from southern locations. The brilliant planet shines at mag. -4.4 and therefore is an unmistakable beacon of light blazing above the eastern horizon. In fact, so bright is Venus it's often reported to the police as a hovering UFO!

What adds to the spectacle is that Venus is not the only planet visible in the early morning sky. Jupiter and Mars are located nearby and even elusive Mercury may by glimpsed at northern temperate latitudes. An added bonus is that on the same day as Venus reaches greatest elongation west it passes just 1.1 degrees south of Jupiter (mag. -1.8) with fainter Mars (mag. +1.7) positioned 5 degrees east of the pair. For comparison, Venus is 11 times brighter than Jupiter with Jupiter 25 times brighter than Mars! As previously mentioned, just before sunrise those at northern temperate will also be able to spot Mercury (mag. -0.9) a few degrees above the horizon.

The diagram/illustrations below show the positions of the planets on October 26, 2015.

Venus, Jupiter and Mars on October 26, 2015 - pdf format (credit:- freestarcharts)

See also

The Planets this Month - October 2015