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Planet Venus is the brightest object in the night sky after the
Moon, and therefore very easy to identify. It alternates, with a
19-month cycle, from being visible in the evening sky (after sunset)
to being visible in the morning sky (before sunrise). It has
recently returned to the evening sky and is now very prominent above
the western horizon during early evening. Although its physical size
makes it a 'sister' planet to the Earth, one could scarcely imagine
a more hostile climate: Surrounded by dense white clouds with an
atmospheric pressure 90 times greater than Earth's, 'runaway' global
warming has taken temperatures up to some 500 degrees Celsius.
Looking in the opposite direction - over the eastern horizon - the
constellation of Orion (with its distinctive line of three stars)
has Taurus (with Hyades and Pleiades star clusters) to its left and
Canis Major (with Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky) to
its right.
The Moon is in the evening sky until December 5 and again after
December 22.
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