Why is Venus so bright in our Earth’s sky?

Two thin white vertical crescents on a dark background, the right one smaller and fuzzy.

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Karthik Easvur in Delhi, India, captured these 2 images on September 12, 2023. They show a crescent moon – and a crescent planet Venus – on the same evening. “It was just amazing,” he wrote. You need a telescope to see Venus as a crescent. But the planet and … Read more

Why are stars so bright on winter nights?

Why are the winter stars so bright? It’s winter in the Northern Hemisphere (summer in the Southern Hemisphere), and if you look outside in the evening you’ll see many bright stars. Beginning around now, the evening sky as seen from around the world will look clearer and sharper than it did 6 months ago, assuming no … Read more