This weekend, Venus visits a popular star cluster called the Pleiades, also known as the Seven Sisters. In this image, taken from Yampa, Colorado on March 31 by Jimmy Westlake, brilliant Venus is underneath the cluster. The best is yet to come.
Westlake, from Steamboat Springs, used a digital camera and a 300mm lens, exposing the image for 90 seconds.
The seven stars of the Pleiades were all born about the same time, roughly 100 million years ago (our Sun is 4.6 billion years old). Every 8 years, Venus slides through the cluster as seen from our vantagepoint.
You can't miss Venus, which is brighter than all stars and planets. It's high in the western sky just after sunset. The Pleiades, tougher to spot, are sometimes mistaken for the Little Dipper because of the shape they form. You'll need fairly dark skies away from city lights to enjoy the display.
On Friday evening, Venus enters the Pleiades, just below the dipper's bowl, according to NASA. On Saturday, Venus will be higher, amid the stars in the dipper's handle. On Sunday, April 4th, Venus exits the cluster.
On Friday and Saturday, Venus will be extremely close -- less than 1 degree in astronomers terms -- from the brightest Pleiad, 3rd-magnitude Alcyone, with the brilliant light from Venus almost overwhelming it.
"As a matter of fact, you may need binoculars to properly see the Pleiades on these nights, whereas several nights before and after, the separation from Venus is enough to allow the star cluster to stand out," says Joe Rao, SPACE.com's Night Sky columnist.
Orion Goodnight Westy