Bright object in western sky?

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.

In article . com, 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.

Almost certainly the planet Venus. It's really quite bright at the
moment.

Jim
--
Find me at http://www.ursaMinorBeta.co.uk

My lucky star is probably Eta Carinae.

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.

On May 24, 9:10 am, Jim wrote:
In article . com, 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.

Almost certainly the planet Venus. It's really quite bright at the
moment.

Jim
--
Find me athttp://www.ursaMinorBeta.co.uk

My lucky star is probably Eta Carinae.

Thanks, Jim. I guess I discounted Venus owing to seeing it at night,
rather than in the evening. A Homer moment, possibly.

Will.

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.

In article . com, oriel36 wrote:

usual bobbins snipped

Give it a rest, eh? He only wanted to know what the object was, he
didn't need any of your usual rhetoric.

Jim
--
Find me at http://www.ursaMinorBeta.co.uk

My lucky star is probably Eta Carinae.

In article . com,
oriel36 wrote:

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.

Venus overtakes the earth every 584 days. Presumably you are
referring to a transit of Venus, when it passes exactly between the
earth and the Sun. As you say, this will next happen in 2012, but it
it's hardly a once-in-a-lifetime event since the photo you link to was
taken in 2004. In fact, for most people it's either a
never-in-a-lifetime or a twice-in-a-lifetime event.

-- Richard
--
"Consideration shall be given to the need for as many as 32 characters
in some alphabets" - X3.4, 1963.

In article ,
Jim wrote:

My bedroom window faces West, and I've noticed in the last couple of
clear nights a very bright object in the sky.

Almost certainly the planet Venus. It's really quite bright at the
moment.

And if you can get a look at it through a telescope you'll see that
it's approximately a half-circle at present, like a miniature moon.

-- Richard

--
"Consideration shall be given to the need for as many as 32 characters
in some alphabets" - X3.4, 1963.

On May 24, 12:03 pm, Jim wrote:
In article . com, oriel36 wrote:

usual bobbins snipped

Give it a rest, eh? He only wanted to know what the object was, he
didn't need any of your usual rhetoric.

Jim
--
Find me athttp://www.ursaMinorBeta.co.uk

My lucky star is probably Eta Carinae.

The star and crescent is one of the most prominent symbols around,its
roots stretching back to remote antiquity -

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

What you do is balance the ancient appreciation with a contemporary
appreciation based on the Copernican arrangement of planets around the
central Sun and how its motions relates to that of the Earth.

You are confirmed geocentrists and express the 'transit' events in
terms of Venus passing between the Earth and the Sun (that
description is valid for Ptolemaic astronomy) instead of the
heliocentric expression of Venus overtaking the Earth with the central
Sun as a backdrop.If you eventually do rise to the heliocentric
level ,then congratulations on becoming a real astronomer.

There are other still who are astrologers such as Pete and Anthony who
can only manage Venus passing against the Sun and this represents the
lowest level possible.

In article .com, oriel36 wrote:
On May 24, 12:03 pm, Jim wrote:
In article . com, oriel36 wrote:

usual bobbins snipped

Give it a rest, eh? He only wanted to know what the object was, he
didn't need any of your usual rhetoric.


further examples of the usual bobbins snipped

Which part of 'give it a rest' didn't you understand? Which was the hard
word?

Jim
--
Find me at http://www.ursaMinorBeta.co.uk

My lucky star is probably Eta Carinae.