Be sure its a star you’re wishing on

We have probably all heard the little poem above, in one form or another. As children, we were often told to wish upon a star. The Walt Disney movie Pinnochio, summed it up well. If we watched for the first star to appear at night, and wished upon it, our wish might come true.

Stories of wishing stars are found in almost every culture. And though we may not watch for the first star to appear to wish upon, many folks still find it almost magical to watch the stars appear as the sky darkens.

We have also been taught, that things are not always as they appear to be. And the sad fact is, many star wishers, unknowingly, frequently wish on planets instead! The planets Venus and Jupiter are more often mistaken for stars than any other celestial objects. Both planets are quite bright, and, especially in the case of Venus, likely to be the first "star" you see that night. Venus appears bright because it is close to the Earth. Jupiter is much farther away, but it appears so bright because it is utterly huge.

This month, Jupiter, the king of the planets, is shining in the southwest at sunset, and does not set until around midnight. Jupiter is the brightest object in that area of the sky. It is near the bright red star Antares, in the constellation Scorpius the Scorpion.

Jupiter is indeed a large planet, in fact it contains 71 percent of the total mass of all the planets combined. If the Earth were represented by a dime, Jupiter would be a dinner plate.

Binoculars or a small telescope show some of the details of Jupiter’s banded and swirled atmosphere. You can also see the four biggest moons of Jupiter, Io, Callisto, Ganymede and Europa. These moons are known as the Gallilean moons, named after their 17th century discoverer, Galileo Galilei.

Venus, the other planet most often mistaken for a star, is currently so close to the Sun it is difficult to spot in the west at sunset. Indeed, at the beginning of the month, Venus is only visible for about 15 minutes after the Sun sets. But later in the month, Venus will be unmistakable in the western sky. Venus is even brighter than Jupiter.

Venus is brighter than any star in the sky. There are times when Venus appears brighter in our skies than other times. Venus goes through phases just like the Earth’s moon, but it is not because of the phases that Venus is brighter. You would expect Venus to be brighter when it is full, just like our moon, but when Venus is seen as full, it is on the other side of the Sun from the Earth, and is 160 million miles away. Venus is much brighter when it is in its crescent phase, closest to the Earth at 25 million miles. You need binoculars or a small telescope to actually see the phases, just as, guess who? Galileo Galilei discovered them when he first began exploring the heavens with his telescope.

Though you may not want to wish upon Venus or Jupiter, they are both worth watching this month, while you are waiting for that first, real, star to appear!