2023 has been a special year for most of the months it has remained suspended on the western horizon and although it is the brightest body only behind the Sun and the Moon, it is not always positioned at its best angle to admire it. But his magic has not reached its full potential and in In the coming days of July, Venus will reach its largest area in the celestial dome.
Venus lights up even brighter in the sky
Venus’ reign in the sky began in late December 2022 and has extended until it will appear as an eerily striking beacon in the evening sky.
Starting July 7, 2023, Venus will be most illuminated in our sky at dusk. In fact, during the month of July it will grow from a size of 33 arcseconds to 55 arcseconds, so it will appear brighter to the naked eye. That night he will have a magnitude of -4.7 which is unusual to observe in other celestial bodies and the only time when it will exceed said brightness will be until September 19, 2023 when it reaches a magnitude of -4.8.
The planet was positioned in its greatest evening elongation on June 4, 2023, the ideal moment to capture its appearance in the sky for longer. But from that point on, it is falling further and further down the horizon until it disappears from the evening sky in early August. After that, it will no longer be detectable at dusk and will only be observed in the hours before dawn once it reaches its greatest morning elongation and remains there until March 2024.
Why is Venus so bright?
What if I told you that, it may sound strange but lThe planets also have phases that depend on the Sun’s illumination.
Of course, with the naked eye we cannot admire Venus in its waning or waxing phase, since the apparent size of the planet from our position is extremely small. But even if you are not aware of it, you have seen the planet in its full phase, which is when we ask ourselves, why is it so bright now and not before?
Not all planets go through phases or at least not from the terrestrial view, only those inner planets such as Mercury and Venus present a change in the percentage of illumination on their surface because they are between the Sun and the Earth. Just like the Moon, the planets do not have their own light but we see them shine thanks to the Sun’s rays that are reflected on their surfaces, and which depend on the positions in the spatial plane.
It is much easier to understand the phases of the inner planets if you have a telescope, as this will allow you to see the surface of the planet in more detail and how it has regions covered by light and others by shadow.
Venus shows a full phase during superior conjunctions, moment in which it is seen completely dazzling in the celestial vault. The last superior conjunction occurred on October 22, 2022, since then we have been able to appreciate how little by little the planet becomes more and more illuminated.