SOLAR SYSTEM

Detailed explanation-1: -Venus mimics all the phases of the Moon as it circles the Sun inside Earth’s orbit, as shown in this near-ultraviolet sequence recorded in 2007.

Detailed explanation-2: -The extreme crescent phase of Venus can be seen without a telescope by those with exceptionally acute eyesight, at the limit of human perception. The angular resolution of the naked eye is about 1 minute of arc.

Detailed explanation-3: -Tip #4: What to look for while observing Venus Venus goes through phases just like our own Moon as it orbits around the Sun. Its phases are easily visible through a telescope with moderate magnification as it waxes or wanes.

Detailed explanation-4: -Here Venus moves smoothly from a thin crescent, to a half-lit phase, and finally a gibbous phase. We do not see Venus in new phase or full phase because these line up Venus with the Sun and make observing the planet impossible.

Detailed explanation-5: -When Venus is in crescent phase, it is closer to the Earth and larger. In the gibbous phase, Venus is further away and smaller. Galileo sited this phenomena as evidence that Venus really goes around the Sun, and not the Earth. The phases are easily visible in a small telescope, especially the crescent phase.

Detailed explanation-6: -In our solar system, Mercury and Venus are inferior planets: their orbits are entirely inside the Earth’s orbit. When seen from the Earth, inferior planets go through phases, like the Moon’s.