Venus
is as bright as she will be now, resting high up in the eastern horizon after
sundown. These past few evenings have been clear and dry, making her stand out
all the more.
It is
an irony that she is so bright, made so that we see the smallest fraction of
her surface; her position to Earth is close in our orbits, and because of this
we see her now as a crescent, reflecting much in the same manner as the moon
when it lies thusly juxtaposed. Her closeness to us intensifies her light, and
seen through a modest telescope, she does indeed take the crescent shape.
Her
time as the evening star will fade, as she swings through her orbit between us
and the sun. She is sinking slowly on the horizon each night and won’t reappear
until five months hence as our morning star, preceding the sunrise.
No comments:
Post a Comment