Venus still low on sunset horizon
4 comments Print Me Email to FriendTonight is Wednesday, Oct 15 2008
Here’s Venus, still low in the sky after sunset. Venus is so bright that your eye might catch it this low in the sky. If so, you’ll need to be looking as soon as possible after sunset. Right now, Venus is not at its best because the low angle of the autumn ecliptic is keeping it low in the sunset sky.
The early Greeks had two different names for the planet Venus. When they saw it in the eastern sky before dawn, they called it Phosphoros meaning bringer of light. When they saw it in the western sky after sunset, they called it Hesperus, for the son of Atlas. Some say the Greeks believed Venus was two different objects, but personally I don’t believe it. The Greeks were sophisticated observers of the world. They surely noticed the orderly pattern of Venus’ appearances in our sky.
In any case, Venus has had many names, in many languages, in cultures throughout the world and throughout history. After all, it’s the brightest planet visible from Earth. Check it out, some evening when your sky is free of clouds on the western horizon.
Why does the moon appear in the western sky in the early evening in early October ? I thought the Moon rose in the East?
Hi John, when you see the moon in the west, it’s about to set – just like the sun does.
Clear skies!
Deborah
Is there a difference in “apparent” size of the moon as it rises above the horizon to overhead?
What was in the sky near the sun rising, on Oct 16th?