Starry duo in shiny display

Venus, the Evening Star, will be particularly bright over the next month in the south-west sky and tonight it puts on an attractive…

Venus, the Evening Star, will be particularly bright over the next month in the south-west sky and tonight it puts on an attractive display with a thin crescent moon.

"Venus will be only two moon diameters away from the crescent," explained Mr David Moore, editor of Astronomy Ireland magazine. The weak light coming from the crescent will also allow those under clear skies to see "Earth shine" reflected from the dark part of the moon.

The time to look is during and after twilight, but the weather may spoil the fun. Met Eireann predicts a mix of showers and clear skies tonight so if the timing is right the pairing will shine beautifully together.

If the weather doesn't co-operate there is a second chance to see the pairing at twilight on December 29th.

Dick Ahlstrom

Dick Ahlstrom

Dick Ahlstrom, a contributor to The Irish Times, is the newspaper's former Science Editor.