15 January,2009 03:20 PM IST | | PTI
The silvery planet, Venus, following its elliptical orbit will now move closer to the Sun which will make it brighter in the night sky.
Venus, also known as the planet of love, was at its maximum elongation on Wednesday on the day of Makar Sankranti, and now will move closer to the Sun, Science Popularisation Association of Communicators and Educators (SPACE), President Chander Bhushan Devgun said.
Elongation is an astronomical term which refers to the angle between the Sun and a planet as viewed from Earth. When a planet is visible after sunset, it is near its greatest eastern elongation.
When it is visible before sunrise, it is near its greatest western elongation. The value of the greatest elongation for Venus is between 45 and 47, he said, adding the value varies because the orbits of the planets are elliptical, rather than perfect circles.
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Also, the variation can be attributed to the inconsistency in orbital inclination, that is, each planet's orbit is in a slightly different plane.
The silvery planet is 'up' for more than three hours after sunset now-a-days, he added. To view the planet of love, he said a person can just go outside after dark, face south, and take a long look.
The planet can be seen through naked eyes as it is so bright that it outshines city lights and even pierces thin clouds. In 2008, Venus did not had the greatest elongation - either eastern or western.
The planet instead moved from a greatest western elongation on October 26, 2007 to a greatest eastern elongation on January 14 this year.
