Observation: Head towards Venus

At the beginning of summer, the evening star decorates the evening sky. The bright planet offers many observation possibilities, from detecting its visible motion with the naked eye to those hidden clouds with a telescope, to its amazing change in apparent phase and diameter.

Only one planet is well-positioned for amateurs at the beginning of summer: Venus. The one we call our star sponsor will still be able to fill your evenings in a big way. It is visible to the naked eye over the northwest horizon at sunset and becomes brighter as twilight sets in. To mark its apparent motion, use a building or tree on the horizon. If Venus were a star, it would pass this fixed sign 4 minutes earlier each day, due to the Earth’s rotation around the Sun. However, during the second half of May, on the contrary, it returned to the same position a little later from evening to evening. Viewed from the ground, its own motion is already driving it away