What's That Strange Bright Dot in the Morning Sky?

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What's That Strange Bright Dot in the Morning Sky?


Astrophotographer Jeff Dai sent in a photo of Venus and Jupiter over Lake Namtso, Tibet, caught on July 15, 2015. Venus will be extremely bright in the morning sky during September and October.

If you see a bright light just above the horizon at sunrise, don't panic! It's not a UFO — it's probably just Venus.
Planetariums, observatories, weather offices and maybe even police stations may receive a bevy of inquiries in the coming days and weeks concerning a strange bright dot that is now dominating the predawn eastern sky. As sunrise comes later and later, more and more people may see this bright morning object.
But it's only the planet Venus in the opening stages of a spectacular morning apparition that will continue through September and October. In addition, Jupiter will join Venus in the early-morning sky for a gorgeous celestial tango.


Venus made the transition from the evening sky to the morning sky on Aug. 15, when it was rising 45 minutes before sunrise. By the start of September, it was coming up before the break of dawn, at around 4:50 a.m. local time. For the rest of this month, it rises about 2.5 minutes earlier than it did the previous morning. From Sept. 21 through Oct. 26, Venus will rise no later than 3:30 a.m., and will hold court in complete darkness for more than 2 hours before the eastern sky begins to brighten.

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