Venus reaches easternmost elongation, the climax of its apparition in the evening sky.
See the end note about enlarging illustrations.
Arrows through the moving bodies, including the Sun, show their movement from 2 days before to 2 days after this moment, in relation to the map – the starry background. The sunlit disk of Venus is exaggerated 150 times in size, to show that it is now shaped like a tiny first-quarter Moon.
At the time and location of our scene, Venus is 26° above the horizon.
The instant of the maximum of elongation is June 4 at 11 by Universal Time, which is in daylight for America and Europe and half a day before the time of our scene. So this evening is the nearest for viewing.
The maximum of elongation (angular distance from the Su) is 45.4°, and the brightness Venus reaches in magnitude -4.3. These figures do not vary much for Venus, because of its nearly-circular orbit. But this time the event is well north in the sky, Venus having been at maximum latitude north of the ecliptic, and also northernmost declination, on May 9.
Easternmost elongation is one of a cluster of “climaxes,” as described on pages 16-20 of our book Venus, a Longer View. This year:
June 4 3 UT dichotomy (exactly half sunlit)
June 4 11 UT greatest eastern elongation
July 7 20 UT greatest illuminated extent (apparent angular area)
July 9 18 UT brightest
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ILLUSTRATIONS in these posts are made with precision but have to be inserted in another format. You may be able to enlarge them on your monitor. One way: right-click, and choose “View image” or “Open image in new tab”, then enlarge. Or choose “Copy image”, then put it on your desktop, then open it. On an iPad or phone, use the finger gesture that enlarges (spreading with two fingers, or tapping and dragging with three fingers). Other methods have been suggested, such as dragging the image to the desktop and opening it in other ways.
The past few days, in the late afternoon with the Sun safely behind a building to my west, I’ve been able to see Venus’ half-lit phase through a 60 mm refractor at 73x magnification. Through 10x binoculars I can imagine but not discern the phase.
Venus was certainly shining brightly here earlier this evening. It’s set now, just short of its maximum elongation.