Sometimes I see a planet in the sky. Is much brighter than a star.
But I always wonder : which planet is this ?
Answer
During these weeks, a planet can indeed be seen in the southwest in the evening. Much brighter than the brightest stars. It’s Venus. Venus will reach its maximum brightness between February 10 and 20. She’s also getting closer and closer to Earth, but we’re also looking more and more at the unlit back of Venus, as Venus moves between Earth and the Sun (around March 27). Venus will also set shorter and shorter after the sun from now on.
From April, Venus will again be “to the right” of the sun, and thus can be seen in the morning.
All this information can be found in the SKY CALENDAR that is published every September for the coming year by the Society for Astronomy. For each day it is told whether there is something special to see, but you will also find tables with observation data for the sun, the moon, the planets… highly recommended. Be sure to surf to www.vvs.be.
Answered by
prof.dr. Paul Hellings
Department of Mathematics, Fac. IIW, KU Leuven
Old Market 13 3000 Leuven
https://www.kuleuven.be/
.