January 13, 2012

SandBox Comments: Steamboat Today "Jimmy Westlake: Viewing Venus"

— Venus, the lovely evening star, is dominating our evening sky right now. She is the first “star” that you’ll see pop out of the evening twilight, so feel free to make a wish on her. The only other object that you might confuse for Venus is the planet Jupiter, which is halfway across the sky from Venus and not quite as bright.

Venus appears so dazzling in our sky for a couple of reasons: First and foremost, Venus is covered in very reflective clouds so that she gleams like a mirror in the sunshine. Second, Venus is relatively close to Earth right now, just more than one astronomical unit away. That distance will decrease during the coming weeks, and Venus will become even brighter in our sky — a blazing star in the evening twilight.

Here are some of the celestial highlights involving Venus this winter and spring while she is in our evening sky:...."
(Jimmy Westlake)

(Read the rest?  Click title.  Comment to discuss)

No comments: