During this month (on the 2d about 5 p. m.) reaches its greatest eastern
elongation, and will then be 45° 33′ from the sun. One might suppose that
at this time the planet would appear to us the brightest; but this is not
the case. The surface seen, though a greater portion of the disk than
is visible thirty-two days later, is rendered less brilliant on account
of its greater distance, and hence we find that the period of greatest
brilliancy does not occur in this instance until the 3d of June. From
the 1st to the 30th the diameter of Venus increases from 23.6″ to 34.6″,
an increase of 11″, or about 50 per cent. It will set as follows: On the
1st, at 10:49; on the 15th, at 10:49; and on the 30th, at 10:40 p. m. On
the 27th, at 7:54 p. m., is 8° 7′ north of the moon.