Venus
The brightest planet — often called the Evening Star or Morning Star.
After the Moon, Venus is the brightest thing in the night sky. Its thick white clouds reflect most of the sunlight that hits them.
Like Mercury, it stays near the Sun, shining in the west after sunset for months, then switching to the east before sunrise.
Through binoculars on a steady hand you can sometimes see that Venus has phases, just like the Moon.
Facts
- Year
- 225 Earth days
- Size
- almost the same as Earth
- Surface
- 465 °C — hot enough to melt lead
Did you know?
A day on Venus (one spin) is longer than its year.