Here's a nice picture taken last Wednesday of the Moon and Venus after sunset. Courtesy of Guillaume Poulin
These nights Venus has been a gorgeous sight in the sky after sunset. We’ve been out walking every night after dinner and tonight we tried to see if we could spot it before the Sun went down. We found it about 45 or so degrees above the horizon right at sunset (we’ve got a little pair of hills to the west of us — your mileage may vary). It looks like a bright, unblinking star up there and as the darkness deepens it really starts to glitter. So, if you haven’t had a chance to go out and find Venus, now’s the time!
Not a long note today, just a quick “drive-by” to mention that it’s clearing up and the skies are looking lovely! Of course it’ll only last a day or two, but the night skies of spring are definitely here!
One of the things I always go out and look for about this time of year (later in the evening) is the constellation Bootes, which around 9:30 or so has cleared the eastern horizon. And, of course, the Big Dipper and Leo are high in the sky. For me (having grown up in the Northern Hemisphere) these are the harbingers of warmer weather, summer events, and a whole new look to the night time sky. For folks in the southern hemisphere, Leo and Bootes signal the arrival of autumn. Stargazers divided by a common sky…
