Early risers may have noticed a particularly bright star in close proximity to the moon in the pre-dawn of Wednesday morning.
That star is in fact the planet Venus, which is especially prominent in the morning throughout February.
From our perspective, the moon swung close to Venus on Wednesday morning before ‘occulting’ the planet. This means the moon came between us and Venus, blocking
our vision of it.
The event is known among astronomers as ‘The lunar occultation of Venus’.
Venus will remain the brightest object in the morning sky until late October, when it will be visible in the evening sky instead.
Tongaat resident Ashleigh Moodley noticed the phenomenon and snapped the above picture of the moon close to Venus in our morning sky on Wednesday.
Did you photograph this event? Send your photos to news@northcoastcourier.co.za.
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