🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <726585130snz@cullen.demon.co.uk>, Bobg@cullen.demon.co.uk (Bob Gregory) writes:
|> 
|> I'm not an astronomical type so would one of you experts please satisfy
|> my curiosity ?
|> 
|> Thank you !
|> 
|> Each evening at about this time of year one sees a very bright planet
|> lying to the southwest from my position at around 52N. It is at, I would
|> judge  45 to 50 degreed up from the horizontal. It is very bright.
|> 
|> Is it Mercury ? Is it Jupiter ? I don't suppose it's Venus - that's
|> called "The Morning Star", is that right.
|>  ...

It's Venus.  Venus is both the Morning Star and the Evening Star, depending
on where the Earth and Venus are located wrt the sun.  Currently, it is
approaching its greatest eastern elongation, which will occur on January 19,
at which time Venus, the Earth, and the Sun will form a right triangle (with
Venus opposite the hypotenuse).  Later in the year, Venus will have caught
up and passed the Earth and will be seen in the morning sky (although I usually
don't stay up late enough to see that).  Anybody know the date?  Of course,
elongations don't happen at the same time every year; Venus orbits the sun every
225 days, so it depends on when Venus catches up with the Earth.

Mercury is never that high in the sky, and never anywhere near that bright.
As it is approaching superior conjunction (between the Earth and the Sun) you
won't be able to see it at all.

Jupiter has just passed quadrature (Jupiter, Earth, Sun formed a right triangle
with the Earth opposite the hypotenuse) on January 3.  You will see it if
you are up past midnight.

Mars reached opposition (aligned with the Earth and the Sun) on Jan. 7, so it
rises (in the west) around sunset, and sets around sunrise.  It's close to the
twins, Castor and Pollux, in Gemini and forms an interesting red pair with
Betelgeuse in Orion.  You'll be able to see it better later in the month when
the Moon moves.

|> Whichever planet it is - how far from Earth at this time of respective
|> orbits and what is the maximum and minimum respective distances from it
|> to us at different times.
|> 
|> Last, whichever it is, what distance please from the sun at aphelion, at
|> perihelion.
|> 

What?

|> Thank you teacher
|> 
|> Regards
|> 
|> Bob Gregory

-- 

Not a problem.
					
---- D. Scott McCrickard (mccricks@cc.gatech.edu)