4 Jan
2014
4 Jan
'14
2:10 p.m.
Venus is huge right now. I was just outside looking at it with a tiny 8x20mm bino (2:00 PM MST). The crescent is obvious. With the sun behind a juniper, Venus was about one hand-span away from the sun, at about a 45-degree angle to the upper left. Easily visible in broad daylight even so close to the sun. Venus will pass inferior conjunction on Jan 11th, but should be visible in daylight up to and including that day. It will pass about 5 degrees north of the sun at closest approach. Just be sure that the sun itself is either behind an obstruction or below the horizon when you observe, to avoid eye damage.