Q. Since Venus is just coming up in the dawn twilight, I’m curious to know when a planet such as Venus becomes our ‘morning star’ and then the evening star?
A. There are no seasons or months in which planets regularly appear in our sky. The visibility of planets depends on what side of the sun they are on in comparison to Earth. Apart from a visit to Flandrau’s planetarium I recommend using a planetarium program on a computer (use a solar system and a local horizon type view). Programs available for personal computer use include: StarryNight Enthusiast (Mac or PC, go to www.starrynight.com), and Voyager 4 or Voyager 3 (Mac or PC, go to www.carinasoft.com). If you don’t want to spend any money, there is also ‘Celestia,’ a free planetarium program. It is available at www.shatters.net/celestia (older versions available at their FAQ site).