The Sky This Week, 2011 October 11 – 18 — Naval Oceanography Portal

If you look to the west shortly after sunset you may notice a persistent bright point of light in the twilight glow. Resembling the landing light of a distant airplane, this is really the glimmer of the planet Venus, which is slowly emerging into the evening sky. I had my first glimpse of the returning planet this past weekend looking over the Rappahannock River from Virginia’s Northern Neck. Venus will linger over the twilight horizon until late November, then she will climb rapidly to grace the evening sky by the end of the year. Where Venus requires a bit of work to find, Jupiter is easy to spot once he rises. The giant planet now crests the horizon before 7:30 pm, and by 9:00 pm he’s easily seen in the east.

The Sky This Week, 2011 October 11 – 18 — Naval Oceanography Portal