Venus to the right - moon to the left: starburst lens effect
I was looking at Venus this evening, blazing in the South West with a silvery light that is qualitatively brighter than any other 'star' - the only star that may sometimes be seen during daylight.
Yet I never noticed Venus until - what? - about fifteen years ago. I simply never noticed her; and never realised that the Morning Star and Evening Star that people used to poetize about was the same thing - Venus.
I find this hard to account for; especially since I sometimes looked at the night sky attentively, and knew several of the constellations; and I was particularly interested by the phases of the moon. Indeed, I think it was probably during the process of looking for the old and new crescent moons - before dawn and after dusk - that I first saw Venus - those being the times she may be visible.
One interesting aspect of Venus is that she sometimes looks to me like the child's illustrations of a star - with points of light; sometimes even with points all around (six or eight) that look like thin isosceles triangles; sometimes like the 'Star of Bethlehem' with a longer point below...
Anyway, Venus is certainly my favourite heavenly body aside from the moon; but its relative rarity makes her appearance perhaps more exciting than the moon: more of a special treat.
