Crescent Moon and Venus in Daylight / Copyright 2012 Robert D. Vickers, Jr.
About 1:45pm CST today (26 February 2012) I went out to look for Venus and Jupiter in daylight. I had found Venus yesterday afternoon (4pm) about two to three degrees (two finger widths held at arm’s length) to the lower left of the crescent Moon. I was not able to spot Jupiter which was about ten degrees higher in the sky. A little later (about 4:45pm) I went back out and after repeated attempts finally found it in binoculars, though I was still unable to see it naked eye. Later still, about sunset (5:40pm) I was finally able to see Jupiter naked eye, even without help from binoculars.
Today, I could still find Venus about seven degrees (less than a fist width at arm’s length) to the right and a little down from the Moon. It was really pretty easy and I spotted it quickly. Again, I looked for Jupiter but could not find it even in binoculars (7×35). It helps to stand in the shadow of a building to block the Sun. I took the above picture with my Canon Power Shot digital camera.
