Venus returns to the sky on the night of October 27

After about a year of absence, "star day" has reappeared.

On August 18 Venus passed through the sun (seen from Earth) and since then, it has become invisible when obscured by the bright light of the sun.

However, with each passing day, it moved gradually eastward and slowly out of the vicinity of the sun. Finally, on Monday night October 24 (about 50 minutes after sunset) Venus appeared as a "star" on the horizon, about 23 degrees southwest (10 degrees is equivalent to the width of your hand when it reaches the sky). The sky map above shows the location of this planet in the southwest sky.

This sky map depicts the location of planets Venus (Venus) and Mercury (glass) as soon as the sun goes down on October 24, 2011, seen from the northern mid-latitude. The position of Venus in the sky will gradually increase in the autumn in the northern hemisphere.

Experienced observers can still detect this planet. But it is still hoped that on October 30, the time when the sparkling Venus in the sky will last a little longer (to about 55 minutes), to give less experienced observers a chance to contemplate. This fascinating planet threshold.

Here's a great thing for all observers: On Thursday night October 27, you can observe both Venus and Glass (directly below Venus), two planets only a few degrees apart will shine on the western horizon - southwest about 30 minutes after sunset. Located below and to the right of the two planets this evening is a very thin crescent moon, you will have the opportunity to admire this wonderful spectacle clearly using a binoculars.

With an apparent brightness of about -0.3 (which is a measure of its brightness when viewed from Earth), Glass can be seen with the naked eye in the far south of the United States, where it will appear almost an hour after sunset. For observers at the equator, Glass will appear when the sunset ends, while for Southern hemisphere observers - contrary to those north of the equator, will be observed. 1 in the great night sky with the shine of this planet.

In November, Venus will continue to move east of the sun and even we, the most ordinary people will soon be able to see the planet in the clear sky at the side. West - southwest.

Appearing as a brilliant white star with an apparent brightness of around -3,9, our ' sister ' planet will appear at least an hour after sunset on November 3. Its will slowly rise up every evening to adorn the western night sky in the coming winter and early spring. New Year's Day, it will appear about 2 hours 30 minutes after sunset.

Venus will reach its maximum length at 46 degrees east of the sun on March 26. Since then, in mid-April, it will appear more than 4 hours after sunset. Mid-spring is also the brightest time of the planet, reaching the maximum brightness of -4.5 on April 30 next year.

Venus, in fact, will shine clearly at this stage and it can easily be seen with the naked eye with a dark blue color. After the sunset, it will be able to cast a clear shadow in the mysterious dark night sky.

From now on and May next year, constantly observing Venus with a small telescope, we can see all its stages and dimensions.

The planet appears almost full with 95% of sunlight on Monday night, like a small, dazzling disk that fades away in the middle of winter.

In the last week of March, Venus reached a bipolar position (showing a " half moon " shape). After that, it will appear as a large crescent as it moves closer to Earth.

Indeed, telescope users will realize that while the distance between Earth and Venus diminishes, Venus' size in the sky will grow, doubling its size on the 15th. 3. And on May 7, when it doubled in size once again, its large crescent shape could easily be recognized even when viewed with a 7-magnification binoculars. productivity.

Moving in orbit, the brightness of Venus will quickly decrease and disappear. Venus will peak at about 40 degrees in the west, but will drop to about 7 degrees by the end of the month.

Venus then quickly fades away and disappears completely out of sight in the early days of June. Later stages Venus will be extremely rare when it passes in front of the sun.

In the third week of June Venus is like a " bright star " appearing right on the eastern-northeast horizon. Ascending each morning, Venus will then shine very clearly in the morning sky until the end of autumn 2012.