Venus is a prominent part of the night sky lately. You may have seen it in the west after sunset, shining brighter than any of the stars. Because it is the closest planet to Earth and is covered in reflective clouds, it is really bright. In fact, in my former life, I used to get voice mails from people claiming they saw a UFO, describing in perfect detail the location, brightness and appearance of the planet Venus. And I was 100% unsuccessful in my endeavors to persuade them to consider they were looking at Venus, not cosmic messengers from another dimension. Oh well.
If you want to make sure you're seeing Venus and spare your poor local astronomer some "I just got another call from a UFO kook" grief, use this chart to go out and find it tonight. Or any other night for the next month or two; it'll be around for the next couple of months. As a special bonus for being timely, if you go out in the next night or two, Venus will be near the crescent moon.
Image and credit: Roen Kelly, Astronomy.com
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1 comment:
I have been loving Venus of late. Totally makes my night, every night. I even tried to take a photo.
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