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• Tonight, Venus appears about six percent illuminated in sunshine as seen from Earth. But this world is now waning, or showing us less and less of its day side. Venus will shrink to one percent illumination as seen from Earth by the end of May 2012. Venus will pass between the Earth and sun on June 5-6, 2012. Right now, Venus is headed for that event - preparing to pass between the Earth and sun on June 5-6 - and thus the distance between our two worlds is getting smaller. As a result, as seen from Earth, the crescent of Venus will wane in phase - yet become lengthier - in the coming weeks.
• Starting tonight, watch as the moon and Venus part company in the May 2012 evening sky. In other words, for the next two weeks, note the positions of the moon and Venus as they come out after sunset. Venus will be sinking westward (toward the sunset point on the horizon) while the moon will be moving eastward (toward the sunrise point on the horizon). Thus the distance between the moon and Venus on our sky's dome will be increasing.
• And remember … Venus is now waning toward new phase while the moon is waxing toward full. At full moon on June 4, 2012, there will be a partial eclipse of the moon. And as Venus goes between the Earth and sun on June 5-6, 2012, this world will move as a dark dot in front the sun in what astronomers call a transit of Venus. There are at least two lunar and two solar eclipses every year. But this will be the last transit of Venus in this century.
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