Venus shining bright for a few weeks

Our recent stretch of warm weather this October has probably meant you’ve spent a little more time outside and at later parts of the day. Instead of venturing into the cozy confines of your home at 5-6pm, our mild evenings have given us the opportunity to comfortably hangout in the yard well past sunset, without the sounds of chattering teeth.

And on one of these recent mild evenings you may have noticed an incredibly bright "star" positioned about half way between the moon and sun. That white dot isn’t a star but the planet Venus.

Similar in size to Earth (about 7,500 miles across) Venus cuts between the Earth and sun since its orbit only takes 224 days vs. our 365 days. Imagine Venus as the runner in lane 2 while Earth is cruising along in lane 3. The shorter inside track allows Venus to zip past.

For several weeks before Venus is lost in the blinding rays of the sun, it puts on a show early in the evening, just after the sun falls below the horizon. Its orbit brings us within about 25 million miles of the planet or about twice as close as we ever get to Mars (but still 100 times further than the distance to the moon).

Zooming into Venus with a telescope will not show its full face but rather the sliver a planet. We can only see the part illuminated by the sun. And since most of Venus is facing away from us, a crescent shape is what appears. Yet still, the light reflecting off its shiny sulfuric clouds is enough for the planet to appear to the naked eye while our skies are still blue!

So in the next few evenings when you head out to enjoy the mild fall air take a gander at Venus in the southwestern horizon, it’s not hard to miss.

CLICK HERE to see where Venus and the rest of the planets are currently located in the solar system.