[thread drift]
I just wanted to share a story that is only remotely related to Venus and it's position in the sky, and also related to UFO views. I often wondered how people could mistake Venus for a UFO (meaning alien spacecraft) since it is bright, but not airplane bright, and relatively unmoving in the sky. Until recently, when I heard the following exchange between two men as I left to pick up my wife from work.
As I was leaving my apartment complex, I saw two men staring at the southwestern sky just after sunset (about 6pm local time).
I overheard the following conversation:
Man 1: Look there! (pointing to the sky)
Man 2: What?
Man 1: What is THAT!?
Man 2: The light? I dunno
Man 1: It must be a UFO!
Man 2: You think so? It might be a plane...
Man 1: No, it's not a plane. Look, it's not moving.
Man 2: No.
Man 1: Too bright to be a star, and nothing on Earth can be that still! It's a UFO.
I told my wife about it right after I picked her up. I was late to get her and it was dark, so I didn't want her waiting alone in the dark, or I would have stopped to educate the man about Venus. Or maybe he was looking at Jupiter, which happens to share the same bit of sky right now. I am not sure, but it was astounding to me that people DID mistake Venus for a UFO. I was glad to hear that the second man seemed to be a voice of reason, and I hope he set the first man straight. They were gone by the time we got back about 10 minutes later.
[/thread drift]
Back on the OP, I will catch a glance tonight, since I think the occultation of Venus and Jupiter by the moon is an awesome sight!
