Planet

Venus

Also known as MORNING STAR · EVENING STAR · ZOHRA · SHUKRA · HESPERUS · PHOSPHORUS

The blazing morning and evening star.

Brightest planet in the sky and the third-brightest natural object after the Sun and Moon.

Appearance

A piercing white beacon, far brighter than any star. Shows lunar-like phases through a telescope.

Observing

Visible to the naked eye through bright twilight. Use a small telescope to watch its phases change over weeks.

Best viewing

Evening or morning twilight

Observing from Chitral

At maximum brilliancy Venus reaches magnitude −4.7 and casts a visible shadow at Chitral's darker sites on a moonless night. A small telescope shows its phases; the crescent phase near inferior conjunction is large enough to glimpse in steadily-held 10×50 binoculars. Best seen from valley locations with a low western skyline in the evening apparitions.

History & culture

Venus is the most-recorded object in ancient astronomy after the Sun and Moon. The Babylonian Venus Tablet of Ammisaduqa preserves 21 years of its risings and settings from the 17th century BCE — the oldest planetary record we have.