Venus is visible as it reflects the light of the sun, and its brightness changes as it
moves relative to the Earth in its orbit around the sun. It is often the brightest
object in the sky after the sun and moon, and can even be seen during
daylight (if you know where to look!). The image above shows
Venus close to a crescent moon. Venus can never be seen this close to
a full moon. Why? Because the moon is only full when it on the
opposite side of the Earth from the Sun. As Venus orbits the sun
closer than the Earth, it is never seen more than 47 degrees from
the Sun, and so it is usually seen either just after sunset, or
just before sunrise.
