What's Up This Weekend?

An Astronomical Challenge

How many astronomical objects are visible in the daytime sky? There's the sun of course. And the moon, sometimes. Can you think of anything else?

How about Venus? In the night sky, at certain times of the year, only the moon outshines Venus. But does that mean Venus is bright enough to see in broad daylight? Many people are surprised to find out that the answer is yes.

It's difficult to see in the daytime sky and it takes practice or luck to do it, but I'm going to try to help you with a trick that I've been using recently to find Venus -- even at two in the afternoon. Right now, Venus is about 44 degrees from the sun. This is a little more than the width of two hand spans at arm's length. Actually, it's about 18-1/2 inches from the sun as measured by a yardstick held at arm's length.

Now using the sun to find things in the daytime sky can be bad for your eyes, so use the corner of a building or something to block the sun. Hold the yardstick up to the object blocking out the sun. Venus will be at about a 10 o'clock position relative to the sun. Venus will be a pale point of light in the sky, so it will be difficult to see at first. If after searching around about 18-1/2 inches from the sun you don't see Venus you may want to hunt in that area of the sky with binoculars. Do NOT point the binoculars in the direction of the sun. If you are a child, get your parents help.

Happy hunting! If you still can't find Venus, feel free to stop by the store some clear afternoon Tuesdays - Saturdays and I'll help you out.