Astronomical Events Information | 2016 | January
Venus and Saturn Passing Close Together Before Sunrise
Let's get up early to see Venus and Jupiter!
Venus and Saturn can be seen low in the south-eastern sky before sunrise. At 13:00 on January 9, Venus and Saturn will come within 5 arc-minutes of each other. This is about 1/6 the visual size of the Moon (Note).
The time when Venus and Saturn appear the closest will be daytime in Japan. But before dawn on the morning of the 9th, these two planets will appear closer than the apparent size of the Moon. In addition we can watch the positions of Venus and Saturn change day-by-day for several days before and after this event.
The figure explains how to view the event from Tokyo, but this information is essentially the same for any region of Japan 1 hour before sunrise.
(Note) Apparent, or angular, sizes are given in terms of degrees, arc-minutes, and arc-seconds (1°=60’=3600”). The apparent diameter of the Moon is 31 arc-minutes.
Reference: Ephemeris Computation Office
You can look up the rising and setting times for the Sun and the Moon, and the phases of the Moon in the “Koyomi Station” of the NAOJ Ephemeris Computation Office.
You can find the appearance of the Moon and planets as seen from a typical city under “Sky Viewer.”