Planet Venus

Maybe you’ve noticed the bright red “star” hovering high in the southern sky thiswinter. Maybe you’ve noticed it shining with a seemingly steadier light than otherstars in the night sky. Maybe you’ve even noticed it changing position relative tothe constellations. These observations reveal that this object is not a star, butrather the fourth planet from the Sun: Mars.

Look low in southwest as the sky darkens in early December. That brilliant “evening star” is actually not a star, but the planet Venus. Venus is at its…