Have you noticed that Venus is getting harder to find in the west? Venus, the brightest planet in our western sky has dominated our summer skies. Now the planet is appearing lower in the west at the end of the day. That is change. This will continue until mid-October when the planet is gone. You won’t be able to find it.

Venus is getting closer to the Earth but lower in the western sky. Imagine the two planets, Earth and Venus, racing around the sun in their own separate orbits. In that race, Venus is about to pull ahead of the Earth and leave us in the dust.

When the planet is about to pass ahead of the Earth, Venus will be really close to the sun. But before that happens, the planet will look very large in telescopes that can find it.

After October, Venus shifts to becoming a morning planet. Call it astronomical magic. In the span of one month, Venus shifts from being a beautiful notable evening planet to one commanding the early morning sky.