Venus has returned to the evening sky and will spend the month trekking through the constellation of Sagittarius, the archer.
In the late afternoon of Sunday 7 November, a waxing crescent moon will meet the bright planet low down in the sky as the twilight deepens into night. The chart shows the view looking south-west from London at 5pm GMT.
The pair will be conspicuous to anyone with a good south-eastern horizon. Venus will be a bright, star-like point of light but unlike a star it will not be twinkling. Instead it will be a steady beacon. The moon will be particularly beautiful, with just 11% of its visible surface illuminated.
If the weather is clear and you intend to look for the pair, don’t hang around as they will be well on their way to setting by 5.30pm. Start looking any time after 4.30pm but never look at the sun directly if it is in the sky. This pairing is a much easier spot from Sydney, Australia, well placed in the west after sunset, with the moon setting around 10pm AEDT. Use it as a practice run for next month when the grouping will appear again on 6 December and Venus will be at its brightest for this particular apparition.
