Spying a rare 'ring of fire' around Venus at inferior conjunction

Amazing things happen in the day-to-day sky that often go unnoticed during our normal routine. Just such a curious 'non-event' happened this week, when Venus reached inferior conjunction between the Earth and the sun on its race from the dusk to the dawn sky.

And what's even more amazing is the fact that some skilled observers followed this passage and caught sight of Venus as a tiny blazing 'ring of fire' silhouetted against the dazzling sky.

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Credit: Shahrin Ahmad (@shahgazer).

Venus was shining at magnitude -4 and was 58" across at inferior conjunction, the largest that any planet can appear from the Earth.

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tTue view of Venus 1-degree away from the Sun.

This position produces what is known as the Ring of Venus Fire