Sir, - Astronomy Ireland is receiving an increasing number of calls every clear evening asking: "What is the very bright light low in the sky where the sun went down?" The answer is the planet Venus. It will get higher in the sky and even more prominent as the weeks go by until it is at its best in March and April. Venus is so bright that it has been the source of many UFO reports, probably because it is only prominent in the evenings for a couple of months every few years. There is one story of a train driver who stopped his engine thinking Venus was an oncoming train!
Venus is especially well worth watching right now as it will appear to pass very close to the planet Saturn, which is already easily visible to the unaided eye to Venus's upper left. The pair will be closest to each other for a few nights around February 2nd. Full details of this, other celestial sights and all the latest news are contained in Astronomy Ireland's new magazine Astronomy & Space. A major attraction of the year will be the forthcoming total eclipse of the moon on April 3rd. - Yours, etc.,
Editor Astronomy & Space,
Astronomy Ireland,
PO Box 2888,
Dublin 1.