Venus

Visible this month high in the southwest sky at sunset, Venus is almost at its brightest right now. You can’t miss it. Because it’s closer to the Sun than we are, Venus goes through phases just like the moon. With a telescope you can see it’s currently 1/4 lit. The planet is roughly 50 million km away. Venus is just a little smaller than the Earth, and might be a pleasant tropical planet if it weren’t covered with heat-trapping greenhouse gases and clouds that pour sulfuric acid. Still, a beautiful sight from afar.

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