Slim crescent Moon shines to the left of Venus (From The Westmorland Gazette)
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Slim crescent Moon shines to the left of Venus
5:30pm Tuesday 24th April 2012 in Sky Watch
By Stuart Atkinson
I HOPE you managed to see the space station crossing the sky last week, because it won't look as impressive again for a while.
This week, the Moon will again help us to find a couple of Earth's sister planets in the evening sky. After dark on April 25, a lovely, slim crescent Moon will be shining to the left of Venus. Venus is still dazzlingly bright, but starting to fall towards the sunset. But if you have a pair of binoculars, point them at Venus on any night during the coming week and you'll actually see it as a beautiful, tiny crescent! If you see me with my telescope up at Kendal Castle, looking at Venus, stop and have a look too.
On the last day of April (30th), the Moon will be shining to the lower right of Mars. Sadly, Mars is well past its best now, and starting to recede from us, fading as it goes. But it's still a beautiful orange/red ‘star’ to the naked eye, shining among the stars of Leo, The Lion.
Stuart Atkinson Eddington Astronomical Society of Kendal
