Finding Venus
Venus is the easiest planet to spot. If you see a bright star in the west just after sunset, or in the east just before sunrise, it is actually Venus.
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Clues for Viewing
Venus ranges up to 48 degrees away from the Sun. That's about half the distance from the horizon to straight overhead. Make a fist, stretch out your arm, and count 4 and 1/2 fist lengths from the horizon.
Watching Venus over a period of weeks, you see it start off close to the Sun early one evening, and with each passing week, it will look as if it's running away from the Sun. Then it will seem to get tired and slow down. For a few days it will move very slowly, and eventually it will appear to stop moving entirely. Finally it will start moving closer and closer to the Sun until you can't see it for a while.
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Venus Cycle
Venus appears as a morning "star" for about 263 days. Then, Venus hides behind the Sun for 50 days. When it reappears, it becomes the evening star for about 263 days. Venus is also not visible when it goes in front of the sun for about 8 days. The entire cycle is 584 days long.
Venus, like Mercury, undergoes phases, which you can see with a telescope. |
