dipper@utastro.UUCP (Debbie Byrd) (08/28/84)
The planet Venus is returning to our evening sky. More on how to watch for it -- right after this. August 27 The Return of the Planet Venus Venus is the world just inward from Earth in our solar system -- and the brightest planet ever visible in Earth's sky. That's partly because it's fairly near both Earth and the sun -- and mostly because Venus is blanketed by thick clouds that are good at reflecting sunlight. So Venus often appears as the brightest object in the sky -- the glittering morning or evening "star." But Venus has been gone from our sky since about last March -- because it and the Earth have been moving on opposite sides of the sun. Venus moves faster than Earth -- but not much faster. It took about six months for Venus to start coming up behind Earth in orbit -- to get to a place with respect to our world where we can see it once again. Venus may or may not be visible to the naked eye from where you live now -- but Monday evening is a good time to look, since then the planet Venus will be near in the sky to the very young crescent moon. If you're hearing this broadcast before sunset, take a look in the west during evening twilight for a bright pinpoint very near the slim smile of the moon. You'll need a clear sky, an unobscured view of the west -- and binoculars will help, if you have them. The bright face of returning Venus will be difficult to spot in the twilight -- but guaranteed to inspire a smile when seen for the first time since it slipped into the dawn last March. Script by Deborah Byrd. (c) Copyright 1983, 1984 McDonald Observatory, University of Texas at Austin