Venus disappears from the evening sky
This images shows how Venus has changed in appearance in 2017 as viewed from Earth. It has become a larger and thinner crescent as it nears its pass between the Earth and Sun. Photo credit Raffaello Lena via Spaceweather.com
The evening star will soon become the morning star.
Of course, Venus is no star. It is a planet; and it is a very bright planet at that. The clouds that shroud Venus reflect a lot of sunlight. This makes it very bright.
Venus has dominated the evening sky in 2017, but that is changing. It was impossible to miss if you were looking at the sky after sunset in recent weeks. Venus was shining brilliantly. In fact, it is nearly 20 times brighter than the brightest star. (Sirius)
Graphic courtesy of AccuWeather Astronomy Facebook friends www.ClassicalAstronomy.com
Now is the time to see Venus through a telescope. It is about as close to earth as it gets. This means its crescent is large and easy to see.
Venus over the past week. Photo credit: Shahrin Ahmad of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia via Spaceweather.com
Venus will reach inferior solar conjunction later this week. This is when Venus passes closest to the sun as we see it on Earth. While Venus can be beautiful to view at this time, it’s VERY DANGEROUS to view when close to the sun. You can permanently damage your eyes if you accidentally turn a telescope or binoculars to the sun when trying to find nearby Venus.
Venus will shine as the morning star through November.
Thanks for reading and just look up! You never know what you will see.
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