By dawn’s early light

WITH the sun rising earlier each day in the runup to the summer solstice, I know that inviting you to get up before the sun is a very big ask, especially with sunrise occurring well before 6am this week. However, next Tuesday morning (December 4), earlyrising stargazers have a chance to see a beautiful sight in the predawn hours when the moon and Venus will appear less than five degrees apart in the sky.

To get the most out of the celestial shenanigans you will need to find somewhere with an unobstructed eastern outlook and get there before 4am. Here in Dunedin, some of the best views will be from the track atop Sandymount, from where it should be possible to view events with a flat ocean horizon.

If you have binoculars or, better still, a small telescope, it’s certainly worth taking them if you can; while they aren’t essential to see the action, they will certainly improve the view.

On Tuesday, Venus rises first; Earth’s closest planetary neighbour will clear the eastern horizon just before 4am. The planet will be unmistakable, appearing as the brightest ‘‘star’’ in the sky. If you point a telescope at the planet, you will notice that it has a crescent shape, and is just under 30% illuminated. This week, the planet is 64 million km from Earth and the light you see reflected from the planet’s thick cloudy atmosphere has taken nearly four minutes to reach your eyeball.

The moon, which will also be a crescent and less than 14% illuminated, rises just over a quarter of an hour after Venus. Watching the crescent moon clear the horizon can be an aweinspiring sight in itself, so even if you aren’t tempted to watch Venus rise, it’s well worth being in a good spot in time to watch the moon rise. Remember to look out for earthshine once the moon is higher in the sky.

If the sky remains clear, the moon and Venus should present a spectacular sight in the east as the sky begins to brighten.