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swings to inferior conjunction - in between the Earth and sun - five times every eight years, Venus almost always travels above or below the sun's disk. For that reason, Venus' transition from the evening to the morning sky at inferior conjunction usually goes unnoticed. But not this year.
• It'll be easier to catch the moon and Venus below Jupiter at more southerly latitudes, and also at mid-northern latitudes in Europe and Asia. As seen from Asia, Indonesia and Australia, the moon and Venus pair up closely enough to take stage within a single binocular field.
• At mid-northern latitudes, Jupiter rises about one and one-half hours before the sun, and Venus about one hour before the sun. But at temperate latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere, Jupiter rises about two hours before the sun, and Jupiter about one and one-half hours before. The moon's rising time varies, depending upon your latitude - and longitude.

On June 5, 2012, our friend Duke Marsh in Indiana caught this wonderful image of Venus transiting in front of the sun. Venus was in the evening sky. After the transit, Venus was in the morning sky, but it is only now coming into view in the east before dawn.

• Venus passed out of the evening sky and into the evening sky on June 5-6, 2012. At this juncture, many people around the world saw Venus as a small, dark dot in front of the sun: the last transit of Venus in this century. Although Venus swings to inferior conjunction - in between the Earth and sun - five times every eight years, Venus almost always travels above or below the sun's disk. For that reason, Venus' transition from the evening to the morning sky at inferior conjunction usually goes unnoticed. But not this year.
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