EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -Because Mercury and Venus are between us and the Sun, we only see them in the west after sunset and in the east before sunrise.

Detailed explanation-2: -Venus can often be seen within a few hours after sunset or before sunrise as the brightest object in the sky (other than the moon). It looks like a very bright star. Venus is the brightest planet in the Solar System.

Detailed explanation-3: -Venus is Earth’s closest planetary neighbor and the second planet from the Sun. Venus appears either in the eastern sky before sunrise or in the western sky after sunset. When it appears after sunset in the western sky, it is called an evening star.

Detailed explanation-4: -Sunrise and sunset on Mercury are spectacles to behold. Two and one half times larger in the sky than seen on Earth, the sun appears to rise and set twice during a Mercurian day.

Detailed explanation-5: -As an evening star, Mercury appears in the western sky, setting about an hour after the sun. As a morning star, it appears in the eastern sky, rising about an hour before the sun. There must be a clear, unobstructed horizon on these occasions. Mercury usually appears as a bright “star” with a yellow tinge.