On most clear nights I notice a rather large planet oriented in the NW sky
at about 2 fists height above the horizon. I have some hills rather close
to my house (I live in a valley), but the object is still above that
before it disappears behind the hills a few hours later.

Can anyone tell me what planet that would be?

Venus perhaps? But it seems larger than I would expect.



../|ug

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Ogg wrote to DOVE-Net.General <=-

On most clear nights I notice a rather large planet oriented in the NW
sky at about 2 fists height above the horizon. I have some hills rather close to my house (I live in a valley), but the object is still above
that before it disappears behind the hills a few hours later.

Can anyone tell me what planet that would be?

Venus perhaps? But it seems larger than I would expect.

Venus usually follows pretty close to the sun, it it's bringhter than you think your hunch is probably correct.


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poindexter FORTRAN wrote to Ogg <=-

Ogg wrote to DOVE-Net.General <=-

On most clear nights I notice a rather large planet oriented in the NW
sky at about 2 fists height above the horizon. I have some hills rather close to my house (I live in a valley), but the object is still above
that before it disappears behind the hills a few hours later.

Can anyone tell me what planet that would be?

Venus perhaps? But it seems larger than I would expect.

Venus usually follows pretty close to the sun, it it's bringhter than
you think your hunch is probably correct.

Venus can be bright enough to cast its own shadow. Once on a clear moonless night, I could make the shadow out. But I would have thought that in the Northern Hemisphere, Venus would appear SW, not NW.

... Dennis Katsonis
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Re: Re: planet NW late evenin
By: Dennisk to poindexter FORTRAN on Fri May 15 2020 09:10:00


Dennisk> But I would have thought that in the Northern Hemisphere, Venus
Dennisk> would appear SW, not NW.

it depends on the time of year... in my location on the US eastern seaboard, the sun setting position appears to move between the south west and the north west...

for example:

2019 Dec 20, the sun set for me at ~241 degrees... almost max SW for my location...

2020 Mar 20, the sun set for me at ~270 degrees... dead west...

2020 May 15 (today), the sun will be setting for me at ~294 degrees...

2020 Jun 19, the sun will be setting for me at ~299 degrees... almost max NW for my location...

2020 Sep 22, the sun will be setting for me at ~270 degrees... dead west...


NOTES:

1. the dates for max SW and max NW are 6 months apart...

2. the sunset range of degrees is ~240 to ~300...

3. the dates for dead west are 6 months apart...

4. these dates should right close to the equinoxes and solstices...

5. sunrises follow a similar pattern rising in the SE in the winter and NE in the summer...

6. the sunrise range of degrees is ~60 to ~120...


Full Disclosure: i used my installation of Stellarium to track these dates and to also view the analemma of the sun as it progresses...


)\/(ark

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