Peter Lowenstein in Mutare, Zimbabwe wrote on December 3: “Venus and the moon were flanked by broad sunset crepuscular ray which rose almost to the same level.”Just across the International Date Line – in Sabah, North Borneo – our friend Jenney Disimon saw the moon and Venus this way on December 3.Venus and moon on December 3 from Antonín Hušek in the Czech Republic.Moon and Venus from Dubai on December 3, from Priya Kumar.The moon’s position relative to the planets Venus and Mars over the next several days, as viewed from North America. From the world’s Eastern Hemisphere, the moon will be offset toward the previous date. From the Southern Hemisphere, the view will be much the same, with the planets slanting up toward the right from the sunset. Read more at EarthSky’s planet guide.View larger. | Stefan Nilsson (@digitaliz.se) wrote on December 2: “Brothers holding hand while watching the waxing crescent of moon and Venus during the twilight.”Nikolaos Pantazis at Glyfada, Greece caught the moon and Venus on December 2.On December 2, Annie Lewis in Madrid, Spain caught a wide angle view of the sky, showing not only Venus and the moon, but also Mars and some constellations. The moon will be moving up past Mars in the days ahead.April Singer Photography in the U.S. wrote: “This evening as the moon set it aligned with beautiful, bright Venus. Did you watch it in your part of the world?”JV Noriega caught Venus and the crescent moon on December 1, setting over the West Philippine Sea.OMlady O in Switzerland caught the moon and Venus on December 1.Jean Marie André Delaporte caught the moon and Venus from Normandy, France on December 1.See the bright twilight? It means this photo is aimed very low in the western sky after sunset. Padraic Koen of PK Imaging took this photo of the waxing crescent moon and planet Mercury after sunset December 1 from the top of Mount Lofty outside of Adelaide, South Australia. It’s not Venus you’re seeing in this photo, but Mercury. Look for Mercury to the upper left of the moon, just beneath the cloud.Here’s a wider view of the west after sunset from Padraic Koen of PK Imaging in Australia. It’s from December 1, 2016. Now you can see Venus (brightest starlike object in photo) and Mars (upper right).
Deborah Byrd created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Today, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of this website. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. In 2020, she was the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society, the largest organization of professional astronomers in North America. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.
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