From our angle Venus is too close to the sun & almost impossible to see, because the pre-dawn sunlight drowns it out. However if you're somewhere with a very low horizon, & it's an extra clear crisp horizon, you might be able to just barely see it just before dawn. Because of its proximity to to the sun, it will always only be visible after sunset in the west, or before dawn in the east, or invisible because it's too close to the sun. It will never be high in the sky, or visible in the middle of the night.
Long before dawn though, Saturn rises, being the second brightest thing in the sky (not counting the moon). Jupiter, the brightest thing in the night sky (except the moon) rises as the sun sets, & sets as the sun rises now. That's probably what you saw low in the east after sunset. It's bright & high in southern sky by the middle of the night. Mars, not far from Saturn from our view is brighter than usual because it's closer than it's been in 2 years.
The north star is actually quite faint in cities because the city lights drown it out. It's actually too faint to see in my bright area except on a rare occasion. The big dipper is a little brighter. Very late at night, bright Vega is in the northern sky. Very bright Sirius is low in the southern sky just after sunset, just below & to the left of Orion. Last chances to see Orion as it sets a little earlier every day, so from our view, soon it will be too close to the sun to see. But by the end of June, you should catch a glimpse of it rising in the east just before sunrise.
Topic: Pluto, space, & beyond. (Read 48260 times)
