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.

What you are seeing is the planet Venus -

http://www.pbase.com/missouri_skies/image/47363127

Here is an image of Venus as it overtakes the slower orbitally moving
Earth with the central Sun in the background -

http://www.kwastronomy.com/images/Ve...sit-3-1-2c.jpg

The image above of Venus, in an inner orbital circuit,overtaking the
Earth is so rare that it will only happen once in a lifetime ,the
next time in 2012..

We live in the dark ages of astronomy and all these guys can manage is
that Venus passes before the Sun and they never mention the orbital
motion of the Earth with that of Venus.If they did you these
incredible events would be known to humanity as the most immediate
expression of the insight of Copernicus.