Welcome to the Astro Minute, where we’re exploring the universe sixty seconds at a time. I’m   Lauren Smyth, and today we’re looking at the morning and evening “star.”



Venus is the brightest object in our sky after the sun and moon. It’s similar to earth in size and composition, but that’s about all. Venus spins backward, has no seasons, no moon, and a day that lasts eight earth months. Its thick carbon dioxide atmosphere shrouds the hottest planet in the solar system at a sweltering nine hundred degrees Fahrenheit.



Venus is approaching earth, and will reach its peak brightness in mid-February. Interestingly, since it lies between the earth and sun, Venus has phases like our moon, and will actually be a waning crescent at its peak brightness. 



Look for Venus as a brilliant evening object in the twilit west through February. It will disappear in the sun’s glare in March, then reappear in April as a beautiful morning object.



That’s your Astro Minute!