In late November and throughout December, Jupiter is the brightest and most noticeable planet in the east before sunrise. Venus is below Jupiter now, rising in the east only a short while before the sun. If you don’t catch Venus in early December, you’ll likely have to wait until February 2018 to see it again. That’s when Venus will come back into view – now on the other side of the sun as seen from Earth – in the west after sunset.
Gianni Krattli Fine Art Photography calls this photo Venus on Fire. He caught it on November 23, 2017, above the snow-covered Mürtschenstock (2,441 meters) in the Glarus Alps of central Switzerland.Venus and Jupiter rising on November 23, 2017 above El Teide, a volcano on Tenerife in the Canary Islands, Spain via Adrien Mauduit Photography – Film.In late November and December, if you see only 1 planet in the east before dawn, it’ll likely be Jupiter, which rises longer before the sun. Dennis Chabot of Posne Night Sky Astrophotography caught this photo of Jupiter on November 25, 2017.Amy Van Artsdalen wrote that she missed the Venus-Jupiter conjunction earlier this month due to rain, but saw a beautiful sunrise on November 18, with Venus and Jupiter up shortly before the sun over northern California hills, near San Francisco.Crescent moon, Jupiter (top) and Venus triangle early in the morning of November 17, 2017 over Valletta Lighthouse from Tigné Point on the island of Malta. Photo by Gilbert Vancell Nature Photography.Beautiful image of November 17, 2017 planets and moon from Miska Saarikko – Photography/Time-Lapse in Stockholm, Sweden. Jupiter is to the right of the moon. Venus is just above the treeline.Moon, Jupiter (above) and Venus on November 17, 2017 from João Pedro Bessa in Costa Nova, Portugal.Tom Thompson in Eagle, Colorado caught Jupiter (above) and Venus – with the moon above them both – on the morning of November 16, 2017.View larger. | Around the morning of November 15, the moon entered the scene. Here are the moon with 3 planets – very faint Mars, and brighter Jupiter and Venus – on the morning of November 15 via Lee Capps.Matthew Chin caught the moon, Jupiter (above) and Venus from Hong Kong on November 15.Uwe Sartori in Littleton, Colorado caught the moon, Jupiter (above) and Venus on November 15 and wrote: “This particular celestial event has been happening for ages. Now at 62, I’m starting to notice. Never too late. :) I’ve been reading EarthSky daily for a while now, keeping me up on what to look for. Thank you!” Thank you, Uwe!Jupiter (above) and Venus – November 13, 2017 – from Chantel Dunlap in Honolulu, Hawaii. In all of the photos on this page, Venus is the brighter object. In this photo, Jupiter has moved above Venus.Doug Groenhoff wrote: “Conjunction of Jupiter [above] and Venus over the Rincon Mountains from far northwest Tucson, Arizona. While dawn was cracking. Soon lost in clouds.”From Europe and Asia on November 13, Jupiter was still below Venus. This gorgeous photo of Venus (above) and Jupiter on November 13 is from Siddhartha Thapa in Dharan, Nepal.Luba Guvernator wrote: “Beautiful sunrise flying from Fiji to Argentina.”Venus (above) and Jupiter – November 13, 2017 – from Jean Marie André Delaporte in Normandy, France. Lucky shot, Jean Marie!Adrian Strand in Whitehaven England wrote: “This morning’s grouping of planets Venus (above) and Jupiter taken about 6:40 a.m. after the night shift, rising over the Western Fells. Taken on a compact camera, balanced on a rickety fence post.”Mercè Monzonís wrote: “The morning was very clear, and we enjoyed an unobstructed view of the Venus – Jupiter conjunction. The picture is from a small village called Pallejà, 10 kilometers from Barcelona. Barcelona lies behind the first lights. Thanks for the work you are doing!” Thank you, Mercè!Shobhit Tiwari in Kanpur, India wrote: “EarthSky, I like all your updates on cosmos. This is not a pic taken by camera, but, just for curiosity, I wanted to know Venus-Jupiter conjuction, what happened from space. Two software (Starry Night and Universal Sandbox2) show similar result. Earth, Venus and Jupiter were in an almost straight-line allignment …” Thank you, Shobhit!Conjunction of Venus (above) and Jupiter on November 13, with foreground seagulls, from Thomas Gale at Chatham Marina, U.K.Miska Saarikko in Stockholm, Sweden wrote: “There was a point when I thought I would give up when I saw the clouds form over my hometown, but, by watching on several forecast websites, I noticed that they would disappear by the time this conjunction was present. So I stuck on my plan to stay up all night long, watching Netflix and some movies, and here we are.”Another lucky shot from Judy Allen in Minnesota on November 13.Conjunction of Venus and Jupiter over downtown Denver on November 13, after emerging from the clouds, via Christy Sanchez.Jupiter and Venus in conjuction near Grangeville, Idaho from Kris Hazelbaker.Dave Chapman in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada wrote: “I set the alarm to rise at 6 a.m. about an hour before sunrise to catch this appulse of Venus and Jupiter in a clear sky … I knew they would be about 1/4 of a full moon diameter apart, which sounded close to me, but when I saw them against the treeline, the separation seemed wide. Is this the planetary version of the famous moon illusion?”Venus and Jupiter on November 12, 2017, when Jupiter was still far below Venus. This photo is from Kino Obusan in Cabuyao, Laguna, Philippines. It’ll be fun to watch these planets for the weeks ahead, too, as Venus sinks into the sun’s glare, and Jupiter ascends higher in the predawn sky.
Bottom line: Favorite photos from around the globe of the brightest planet Venus, which is now disappearing into the dawn. Also, Jupiter, Mars and the moon. The Venus-Jupiter conjunction was November 13, 2017.
Our Editor-in-Chief Deborah Byrd works to keep all the astronomy balls in the air between EarthSky's website, YouTube page and social media platforms. She's the primary editor of our popular daily newsletter and a frequent host of EarthSky livestreams. Deborah created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. 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 won 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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