The ‘morning star’ Venus returns to the dawn sky

The planet Venus has returned to the early morning sky and has established itself as a dazzling morning lantern, emerging into view from beyond the east-southeast horizon before 5 a.m. local standard time. 

Just one month, on Jan. 8, was the day of its inferior conjunction — when it passed between the sun and Earth and made its transition from an evening to a morning object. A week later it had moved far enough away from the sun’s vicinity so that it was rising more than an hour before sunrise.