The appearance of Venus through a telescope becomes more crescent
shaped during January as the planet's orbit brings it closer to Earth.
As the planet's phase becomes more crescent shaped its diameter
increases. It appears 30" wide by January 31. Anyone with a small
telescope can observe the changes in Venus' appearance.

Watch after the Sun sets January 29, when a 3-day-old Moon lies 6°
west of Venus. This will be a memorable sight of two of the brightest
objects in the night sky.

Those armed with binoculars will be able to spot Uranus 4° south of the
Moon this same evening. Although the Moon lies nearby for only a night,
Venus remains as a guide to the more distant planet for a couple of
weeks. Venus passes 1.4° north of Uranus January 23.

Both planets appear in the same binocular field for several days either
side of their conjunction. When viewing these planets, take a minute to
consider their distances. Venus lies just 57.7 million miles from
Earth, while Uranus lies a whopping 1.9 billion miles away.