Venus continues to advance on Saturn.

Fig 1: The morning sky looking east, 20 August 03h 10m GMT (UT). Venus with Saturn lower left. The bright star to the far right is Betalgeuse. Castor and Pollux above Saturn, just visible. A 1 sec. digital exposure, 35mm f/2.5, ISO 400. John Vetterlein, Rousay. Click the image for enlargement

Fig. 2: Venus and Saturn in Gemini, looking east at 02h 50m GMT, August 25 2004. A 6 second exposure; 50mm f/2.5. 800 ISO. Castor and Pollux, together with other stars in the constellation, are well seen against a darker sky. Click the image for enlargement

Fig. 3: Looking east from Rousay (Egilsay on the horizon), Sept. 1 at 02h 00m GMT. A 5 sec. exposure, F/3.5, ISO 600. Saturn just above Venus with Castor & Pollux above, left. The "the head and shoulders" of Orion in the trees to the right; Pleiades very top right.

Fig. 1 shows Venus still well to the west (right) of Saturn in the morning sky on August 20. (See archive for more information.)

In Fig. 2, from a photograph taken on August 25, Venus and Saturn can be seen to have come closer together.

Venus and Saturn were at their closest (a little under 2 arc degrees) on August 31 at 16h GMT. Both planets rose some thirty minutes after true midnight from Orkney on September 1.

The image in Fig. 3 was taken about an hour and a half later with the Moon very much in evidence close to the meridian.

Venus will continue her forward motion, losing declination steadily in the process.

JV 01/09/04