Venus Question

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From: "Kevin Rehberg"
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Subject: Venus Question
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Date: Tue, 4 Nov 2003 16:33:49 +0000 (UTC)
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Organization: Mailgate.ORG Server - http://www.Mailgate.ORG
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KR You guys surprise me. Nobody else had the motivation of actually
KR trying to prove this in Starry Night Pro, or a comperable software
KR package?
KR
KR Well - turns out.....IT'S TRUE!!!
KR
KR You can see for yourself with Starry Night Pro (a planetarium
KR software package for those of you that don't know). Just lock on
KR Venus, get rid of the horizon, enable the lines that show the movement
KR of the planet relative to the background sky - and here's the
KR important part - set your time intervals/steps to one year! So step
KR forward four to eight years and you'll see what I'm talking about.
KR
KR The pentacle is almost perfect. The only thing that doesn't work
KR is that the last step of Venus (in the 8th year) doesn't exactly
KR "close off" the pentacle. But it works for ANY 8 year cycle.
KR . . .
KR
KR First, I'm into astronomy, and not astrology. I happen
KR to be reading _The Da Vinci Code_, where it is
KR alleged that Venus sweeps out a 5-pointed star shape
KR (pentacle) in the sky every 8 years. The origin
KR of this observation is evidently

Oh, don't worry, the pattern is real, alright. I went thru this
exercvise with older DOS programs in the 1980s and there are a couple
books on celestial cycles.
The question next is, did the early astronomers know of this
pentacle? It doesn't really show up in the sky all that well due to
twilight when there are few stars to plot out Venus's path.
The 8-year cycle is notable this year and next brcause now is the
'home stretch' leading to the transit in June 2004. Venus goes thru
her 'grand apparition' where she (for us in northern latitudes) rises
in a majestic sweep into high sky, hanging in the west for a couple
months long after sunset. Then in May she plunges down into the
setting Sun.
You know you're getting along in years when you clearly reall
seeing this grand apparition several times! I do.

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