Planet observers will focus on the evening sky this month. Venus plays the lead role as the stunning “evening star,” gleaming in the western sky after sunset. As the heavens darken and the bright winter stars fill the southern sky, Saturn rises serenely in the east. Telescopes will show this planet’s nearly edge-on rings, which appear wafer-thin.
Venus stands high at dusk
February 2009: Venus plays the lead role as the stunning "evening star," gleaming in the western sky after sunset.
