View in 2004
Venus, the dazzling morning or evening star, outshines
all the other stars and planets in the night sky. It's
the brilliant "evening star" from the beginning
of the year until early June. It then disappears in the
Sun's glare for a few days, but emerges by mid-month as
the "morning star." It flirts with Mars in
April and early May, then stages a spectacular pairing
with Jupiter in the morning sky in early November.
Fact Sheet
Average Distance from Sun
67.2 million miles (108.2 million km)
Mass
0.815 times Earth's mass
Diameter
7,520 miles (12,104 km)
Length of Day
243 Earth days
Length of Year
225 Earth days
Surface Gravity
0.91 that of Earth (If you weigh 80 pounds, you would
weigh about 72 pounds on Venus.)
Known Moons
None
Full Moon
The full Moon of
January
is called the
Cold Moon or Moon After Yule.
Look for Saturn
shining to its upper right during evening, and Procyon a
little farther to the Moon's lower right. Pollux and
Castor, the "twin" stars of Gemini, are just to
the Moon's upper left, almost hidden in its glare.
2004 Eclipses of
the Sun & Moon
Eclipses Influencing Us in 2004
Degree and Sign
of Eclipse Date & Time
Total Solar
Eclipse 1:14 Sagittarius November 23, 2003
5:50 pm EST - 2:50 pm PST
Partial Solar Eclipse 29:49 Aries April 19, 2004
9:35 am EDT - 6:35 am PDT
Total Lunar Eclipse 14:42 Scorpio May 4, 2004
4:31 pm EDT - 1:31 PDT
Partial Solar Eclipse 21:06 Libra Oct 13, 2004
11:00 pm EDT - 8 pm PDT
Total Lunar Eclipse 5:02 Taurus October 27, 2004
11:05 pm EST - 8:05 pm PST
Mercury
Retrograde from December 2003
to January 7,
2004
What is Mercury
Retrograde?
Mercury is retrograde, appearing to move backward, 2-3
times a year. Mercury retrograde times call for you to
recheck everything, anticipate and plan ahead, and to
relearn lessons unlearned since the last Mercury
retrograde cycle. It is a good time for review and
completing ongoing projects. It is NOT a time to start
something new. Mercury energies involve the mind, mental
processes, communication, travel, speaking, and writing.
The Retrograde symbol is "Rx", the same symbol
on all medical prescriptions! Physicians until the 15th
century had to also be astrologers before they could
practice medicine. Plan ahead for these times. So you can
do preventive maintenance and schedule, here are the
common things that occur, the things Mercury retrograde
times are notorious for:
*
Communications go awry - phone calls, letters, emails,
faxes, conversations are delayed, misinterpreted,
blocked. Recheck everything like appointment times,
spelling, wording, the words you say.
*
Anticipate detours - memory lapses, confusion, failing to
listen, failing to confirm, negotiation failures,
changing of plans.
*
Avoid signing documents, contracts if possible. You can
wait 3 weeks, hopefully.
*
Expect travel delays, car trouble, delayed plane
schedules, reservations that suddenly becoming
"missing", transportation difficulties of all
kinds.
*
Expect problems with messages, books, letters, magazines,
documents, neighbors and the near environment.
*
BACK up your computer files! This is the time the screen
goes blank and there is nothing there!
*
Expect the phone lines, cable lines, power lines to have
problems.
coming soon to Sun
Books!
Understanding
Sun Sign Astrology
Plain and Simple
by Donette Smock
The Sun News
Online Editor
details coming soon
any questions
you would like answered about the night sky in the next
column
