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It is Shining in the West! No! This is not an election advertisement! It is an advertisement for the god of good fortune Sukra or the goddess of love Venus. Either way you should be interested. Venus has been shining and shining for the past few months imploring you to look at her/him! You can not step out after sunset and NOT see it in the western sky.
Nowadays planet Venus is acting like a
two year old. It is daring to let the sun go ahead and ventures further
and further away in the sky from the sun. Each evening it appears higher
in the western sky at sun set. Venus seems to be enjoying this
independence from the sun. It glows brighter each day! Venus passes the
stars of Aries and then those of Taurus even as planets Mars, Saturn and
Jupiter watch. The moon has playfully glided past it each month as if
saying ‘catch me if you can’! In the last weekend of March, Mercury joins
the party in the evening. It is literally a planet parade. On March 28,
2004 western sky will present an interesting view with four planets and
the half moon. To view the fifth planet Jupiter all that you need to do is
to about turn and face east. Jupiter shines brightly among the stars of
Leo. Mars and Venus will flank Krittika.
Nearby Rohini and Ardra will imitate the reddish hue of Mars. The familiar Orion is another one at the party as is the brightest star sirius. By the end of March though mama sun thinks that enough is enough and tugs little Venus in, slowly at first but quite fast later. Venus closes in without protest and shines steadily till the second week of May. But from May 15, the shine starts to dim. It loses its shine so much that by June 8, the day of the Transit of Venus, it would lose ALL its shine. It will be seen as a black dot passing the solar disc. This is something Venus has not done for over 121 years! So go out and LOOK at the sky. Over the next several weeks there is plenty to see, enjoy and learn from. |
