"The God of War and His Rival Make an Exquisite Triangle with the Goddess of Love in Late January Mornings"

Scheduled air date: 2003 Jan 20-26

The two planets whose orbits are closest to Earth's—Venus and Mars—currently make great telescopic targets in the morning skies.  Later this year Mars will be making its best appearance in almost 60,000 years!
(Shown about an hour before sunrise during January and February for mid-Northern latitudes.  The inset shows Venus' changing phase and apparent size.)

On the mornings of January 27th and 28th, the Waning Crescent Moon will appear near Mars and Venus, respectively.  The two planets form a triangle with the star Antares (whose name means the rival of Mars).
(Shown about 45 minutes before sunrise for mid-Northern latitudes.)

If you wish to view illustrations for other episodes, please see our Star Gazer Illustrated directory.

Illustrations on this page were created using TheSky Astronomy Software, an advanced desktop planetarium program designed for Windows. Copyright © 1999-2006 by Software Bisque, Inc.