dipper@utastro.UUCP (Debbie Byrd) (09/26/84)
The planet Venus is now low in the western twilight. More on Venus -- after this. September 19 Venus and Spica Tonight's a good night to welcome back an old friend -- the planet Venus. Venus has been behind the sun for many months -- but it now appears as the bright object very low in the western twilight -- near another object you may be able to see, a star, Spica. Venus is the brightest object in the sky besides the sun and moon. Even now -- when the planet is on the dimmer end of the scale -- Venus far outshines Spica -- the sixteenth brightest star visible to the eye. And while Venus appears bright even now compared to the other planets and stars -- it's only a dress rehearsal for her brilliant performance as the evening star in the months ahead. Venus returned to the evening sky only a few weeks ago -- having passed behind the sun from our vantagepoint on Earth. The planet is now moving away from the sun's glare -- climbing slowly up the celestial dome. During the coming weeks and months -- Venus will pass her brother planets Saturn and Jupiter in turn. So Wednesday night -- or Thursday if it's already too late -- unclouded skies and a clear western horizon will reveal Venus and possibly a fainter star, Spica -- low in the west after sundown. If you do find the planet and the star -- watch the pair carefully for the next several evenings. Venus will appear to move higher up the dome of the sky -- as Spica sinks westward into the twilight. Script by Diana Hadley. (c) Copyright 1983, 1984 McDonald Observatory, University of Texas at Austin