Planet Venus, the third brightest celestial body in Earth’s skies—after the sun and moon—is the closest planet to Earth in our solar system. Named for the Goddess of Love, planet Venus is known as the Evening Star.
The smaller the number, the brighter the celestial body.
The apparent magnitude of the Sun is -26.74; Full Moon: -12.6 to -12.7 magnitude.
Venus, -3.91m, sets at 6:09 p.m.; Mercury, -0.88m, sets at 6:51 p.m., Saturn, 1.09m, sets at 8:13 p.m.
Today: Day length 10 hours, 32 minutes, Darkness/astronomical twilight 5:17 a.m., Dawn 6:23 a.m., Sunrise 6:52 a.m., Sunset 5:24 p.m., Dusk 5:52 p.m., Nightfall 6:58 p.m.
It’s 11 o’clock on a clear, moonless night when, although ready to call it a night, I pause at a glass door that looks out to the southwestern sky: I am moved by an urge for contact with the stars. The sight of Orion the Hunter and The Greater Dog, Canis Major, fills my viewshed from southwest to west. How enormous they are! A smile of recognition moves my face, my spirit.
Resources
“Brightest Celestial Objects in Earth’s Sky”
“Why Light Pollution Matters and What We Can Do About It”
“Only shine the light where and when it is needed – the impact of light pollution”
Mountains of Stars: Environmental Awareness from a Cosmic Perspective
