On May 24, 8:55 am, Will wrote:
COMPLETE NEWBIE:

I quail slightly at asking a dumb question, so be gentle with me!

My bedroom window faces West, and I've noticed in the last couple of
clear nights a very bright object in the sky. It doesn't "wink" so I
assume it's not a star, but it's pretty spectacular. A planet,
maybe? I'm sorry I don't have the technical language to describe its
position better, but then if I did, I'd probably know what it was. If
it makes any difference, I'm in Gloucestershire.

TIA

Will.

Around my area the star and crescent is a prominent symbol and on
Friday I pointed it out to friends who immediately recognised it for
what it is.It is the planet Venus.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_and_crescent

Our ancestors tried to pack as much astronomical information into
their building as they could ,whether in seasonal alignments or just
good old fashioned aesthetics -

http://www.knowth.com/aerial/newgrange-aerial.jpg

That monument,built over 5 200 years ago contains a recignition of the
annual orbital cycle of the Earth,the alignment could not be
reproduced today by contemporaries who refuse to recognise that their
astrological framework is calendrically based meaning they try to fit
4 orbital cycles of the Earth into 3 years of 365 days and 1 year of
366 days.