hi, an additional box for the night sky in april.-kamal

Box: Can you recognize the Western sky?

If you look at the Western sky, can you recognize the hexagon
we outlined in the Jan-Feb issue of {Jantar Mantar}?
The three stars forming the belt of Orion (Mriga),
with orangish Betelgeuse (Tiruvadirai) and white Rigel (Rajanya)
on two sides of it?
If you follow the belt to the left you reach
Sirius (Vyadha).
If you follow the belt to the right you reach the yellowish
Aldebaran (Rohini) in Taurus (Vrishabha).

But what is this bright star dominating the scene
in Taurus, brighter even than Sirius?
This is not a star, it is the planet Venus (Shukra, Velli).
It is at its highest after sunset at the end of March.
It is at its brightest at the end of April.

If you have kept your star map from the previous issue,
you can mark the position of Venus once a week.
The word ``planet'' means a wanderer, and you will
be surprised to see that Venus moves very slowly through
Taurus (Vrishabha).