A short goodbye to our old friend Venus

The time has come to say goodbye to our old friend Venus in the evening sky. However, it won't be a long goodbye. After passing between us and the sun on March 27, the bright planet re-emerges in the morning sky.

In fact, it might be possible to see Venus in the evening sky just after sunset on one day and the next day see it in the morning sky just before sunrise.

If you can find a very flat and unobstructed western horizon, look about a half hour after sunset today, March 26, for the bright dot of Venus very close to the horizon.

Then the next morning look no later than a half hour before sunrise, this time with a flat, unobstructed eastern horizon. Venus rises before sunrise, but just barely. Binoculars could be of some use to help pull Venus out of the cloudy muck that plagues the horizon.

Ancient Greek astronomers thought Venus represented two different astronomical objects. When appearing in the morning they called it Hesperus and the evening apparition was called Phosphorus. The Romans followed suit until they decided perhaps the Babylonian astronomers were right and that it was only one entity after all. The Babylonians named the object Ishtar after their goddess of fertility which the Romans changed to their goddess of fertility, Venus.

It is possible to view this double, evening/morning event only once every eight years, so catch it now or you will have to wait.

With the successful launch of space shuttle mission SST-119 and its docking with the space station, attention is focused once again on looking for the pair as they pass over our heads.

Unfortunately, orbital mechanics being what they are, the possibility of observing the space station for the next few days is absolutely crummy. The passes won't last much more than a minute and they will be very low on the northern horizon. Point your favorite web browser to www.heavens-above.com and you can check on the possible viewing times for yourself.

You will be asked for your latitude and longitude, but that information is easily available from the site. The current docked mission will last only two weeks so it could be possible to view the pair passing in tandem after March 30. Check the Heavens Above site for further information.

SKY WATCH:

We may have lost Venus in the evening, but Saturn is still a nice study in the evening sky and can be found residing in Leo, the Lion. The familiar backwards question mark indicating Leo's head and mane can be found in the southeast after 8 p.m. these warming spring evenings. Saturn is the bright, yellow, star-like object located just below the triangle-shaped hindquarters. Don't confuse Saturn with Regulus, the brightest star in Leo, which is the point of the question mark located up and to the right of Saturn. Jupiter is starting to make a nice showing in the morning sky in the southeast. It is coming around from being on the far side of the Sun and will be growing brighter as it comes closer to Earth in the days to come. Mars is also starting to peek from behind the Sun and will be growing brighter as the days pass.

NEXT TIME:

More astronomical blathering.