Venus and crescent Moon

Robert P. Clark captured this pretty scene of Venus and the crescent Moon at dawn on July 12, 1996, from Port Clyde, Maine.

Brazilians are best placed to see the crescent Moon hide Venus on Sunday evening, October 26, 2003. The planet disappears behind the Moon’s dark limb around the time of sunset, then returns to view on the bright limb during deep twilight, at the following local times (Universal Time – 3h):

  • Rio de Janeiro,
         6:06 p.m., 7:05 p.m.
  • São Paulo, 6:04, 7:05
  • Brasília, 6:15, 6:57.
    Because Venus’s disk will be 10.4" across and 95 percent sunlit, both disappearance and reappearance will be gradual, each lasting about 20 seconds.

    This is a late-afternoon event for Chile, where Venus should be an easy naked-eye sight near the Moon if the sky is very clear. Disappearance and reappearance are due at these local times (UT – 3h):

  • Antofagasta, 5:37 p.m., 6:46 p.m.
  • Santiago, 5:32, 6:48
  • Concepcíon, 5:30, 6:42
  • Puerto Montt, 5:36, 6:34.

    In the Hawaiian Islands only Venus’s reappearance will be visible, and only after sunrise that Sunday morning. A telescope will probably be needed because Venus and the Moon will be below the Sun. Here are local times (UT – 10h) of the reappearance and the Moon’s altitude in the sky:

  • Hilo, 8:33 a.m., 11°
  • Lanai, 8:32, 9°
  • Honolulu, 8:32, 8°
  • Lihue, 8:31, 6°.
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