Venus brightness peaks next few evenings
It is hard to miss that bright light in the evening sky. Venus continues to grow brighter and brighter. It will be as bright as it gets tonight into the weekend.
Believe it or not, only a small percentage of Venus is illuminated, as we see it.
<center><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="lt" dir="ltr">Planet Venus 14.2.2017 <a href="https://t.co/2TltYvjJp2">pic.twitter.com/2TltYvjJp2</a></p>— Andy Schneider (@Andysstar2) <a href="https://twitter.com/Andysstar2/status/831943782258114569">February 15, 2017</a></blockquote>
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This was the view of Venus Tuesday night. Only about 1/4 of the planet is illumined by sunlight.
However, the surface area that is illuminated is increasing because Venus is becoming closer to Earth each day. It will eventually pass between Earth and the sun later in March. But, as we head into March, Venus will become a very thin crescent.
Here is wonderful chart from NakedEyePlanets.com This really shows you how the apparent size of the planet increases substantial as it prepares to whip between Earth and the sun.
According to Astronomer Gut Ottewell, the exact dates of Venus' greatest illumination and maximum brightness don't quite line up. Technically, the peak apparent magnitude occurs on Feb. 18. Read more in his Earthsky.org article here.
Basically, Venus will be as bright during the next few evenings as it has, and will be, in the evening sky back through last year.
Expected cloud cover tonight. Red and orange areas have the highest chance of clouds while blue and green areas have the highest chance of clear skies.
To see Venus, just look toward the west as the sun goes down. It will be much brighter than anything else in the sky after sunset. You will even be able to see it through thin cloud cover. Much of the U.S. will have clear skies this evening.
The eastern U.S. will continue to enjoy clearer-than-average sky conditions into the weekend! So, take a look for the evening spectacle. Thanks for reading and just look up! You never know what you will see!
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