Amateur Astronomers, Be Aware – Venus and the Moon Will Shine Bright on the March Sky
By March 24, 2020, planet Venus will reach its maximum elongation for the year in the east of the evening sky. When an inferior planet is visible after sunset, it is near its greatest eastern elongation. The angle of the maximum elongation for Venus is between 45° and 47°, and on this night, it will stay out for a maximum amount of time after sunset.
To best see the phenomenon on Thursday, you should be living in the Northern Hemisphere. It won’t be just Venus, aka the evening star. The Moon also will be crescent and Venus will shine alongside it.
Although the two of them will appear to be close, Venus will be about 84 million miles from Earth, while the moon is nearly 250,000 miles away.
Venus and the Moon to shine bright in the sky in March
In astronomy, a planet’s elongation is the angular separation between the Sun and the planet, with Earth as the reference point. The greatest elongation of a given inferior planet occurs when this planet’s position, in its orbital path around the Sun, is at a tangent to the observer on Earth.
Since Venus is well within the area of Earth’s orbit around the Sun, observation of its elongation should not pose that much a challenge. When a planet is at its greatest elongation, it appears farthest from the Sun as viewed from Earth, so its apparition is also best at that point.
In the meantime, the Moon is on its 29 and a half days journey around the Earth. On Thursday she will let us see her illuminated by the Sun side. She is on her way to becoming full again. A crescent shape represents the lunar phase in the first quarter. It is also known as the “sickle moon”.
The symbol is used as the alchemical symbol for silver. It was also the emblem of Diana/Artemis thus it represents virginity. Roman Catholic Marian veneration associate with the Virgin Mary.
Doris’s passion for writing started to take shape in college where she was editor-in-chief of the college newspaper. Even though she ended up working in IT for more than 7 years, she’s now back to what he always enjoyed doing. With a true passion for technology, Doris mostly covers tech-related topics.
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