Which Planet is Called the Morning Star?

Venus is called the Morning Star when it appears in the eastern sky just before sunrise.

The same planet Venus is also called the Evening Star when it appears in the western sky just after sunset.

In ancient times, people believed these were two different objects:

• Morning appearance: called Phosphorus (Greek) or Lucifer (Latin) meaning 'light-bringer'
• Evening appearance: called Hesperus (Greek) or Vesper (Latin)

Venus is the brightest natural object in the night sky after the Moon. Three factors make it so brilliant:

1. Proximity: Venus is Earth's closest planetary neighbor
2. Reflectivity: Venus has a thick atmosphere of highly reflective white clouds (made of sulfuric acid!) that reflect about 70% of incoming sunlight
3. Position: Being closer to the Sun than Earth, Venus is always seen near the Sun in our sky — near the horizon, where the sky is darkest

Venus has an orbit inside Earth's orbit. So from Earth, Venus never appears far from the Sun — we only ever see it just before sunrise (eastern horizon) or just after sunset (western horizon). It is never visible in the middle of the night.