The dawn morning sky brightens rather quickly, and the stars disappear from it one after another. Longer than others, only one luminary remains visible. This is Venus, the planet is the morning star. It is many times brighter than Sirius for the earth observer and is second only to the moon in this sense in the night sky.
Features of movement in the sky
Today, almost everyone knows which planet is called the "morning star" and why. Beauty Venus appears in the sky shortly before sunrise. After dawn, it remains noticeable longer than other luminaries due to its brightness. The most keen observers can see a white point in the sky for several hours after sunrise - this is the planet "morning star".
Venus also appears before the sunset. In this case, she is called an evening star. As the sun goes down over the horizon, the planet becomes brighter. You can watch it for several hours, then Venus enters. In the middle of the night, this celestial body does not appear.
Second from the sun
The answer to the question “what planet is called the morning star” could be different if Venus was in a remote part of the solar system. A similar nickname is given to the cosmic body not only because of the peculiarities of its movement in the sky, but also because of its brightness. The latter, in turn, is the result of the position of the planet relative to the Earth and the Sun.
Venus is our neighbor. At the same time, it is the second planet from the Sun, almost identical in size to the Earth. Venus is the only one of the similar cosmic bodies that comes so close to our home (the minimum distance is 40 million kilometers). These factors make it possible to admire it without the help of telescopes or binoculars.
Cases of bygone days
In ancient times, the answers to the question about which planet is called the morning star and which - the evening star did not coincide. It was far from immediately noticed that the luminaries, preceding their appearance with sunrise and sunset, are one and the same cosmic body. Ancient astronomers carefully watched these stars, poets composed legends about them. After some time, careful observation bore fruit. The discovery is attributed to Pythagoras and dates from 570-500. BC e. The scientist suggested that the planet, known as the morning star, is also an evening luminary. Since then, we know a lot about Venus.
Mysterious planet
The cosmic body, named after the goddess of love, as if justifying its name for a long time excited the minds of astronomers, but did not allow it to come closer to unraveling its secrets. Almost until the 60s of the last century, Venus was considered a double of the Earth, there was talk about the possibility of detecting life on it. A lot of this contributed to the discovery of her atmosphere. The discovery was made in 1761 by M.V. Lomonosov.
Improvements in technology and research methods have allowed a more detailed study of Venus. It turned out that the dense atmosphere of the planet consists mainly of carbon dioxide. Its surface is always hidden from observation by a layer of clouds, probably consisting of sulfuric acid. The temperature on Venus exceeds all thresholds conceivable for humans: it reaches 450 º. This and other features of the planet caused the collapse of all theories involving life on a cosmic body close to us.
Gas giant
However, the question “what planet is called the morning star” has another answer, and more than one. Sometimes this name means Jupiter. The gas giant, although it is a decent distance from our planet and is located farther from Mars from the Sun, immediately follows Venus in brightness in the sky. Often they can be observed nearby from each other. More recently, in early July 2015, Venus and Jupiter were visible as a beautiful double star.
It should be noted that the gas giant is often available for observation throughout the night. Therefore, he can not be called as a suitable candidate for the role of a morning star, like Venus. However, this does not make it a less interesting and beautiful object of the sky.
Closest to the sun
There is another morning star. The planet, except for Venus and Jupiter, denoted as follows, is Mercury. The closest cosmic body to the Sun is named after the Roman messenger of the gods for its speed. Now ahead of, now catching up the daylight, for the earth observer Mercury is seen alternately in the evening and morning hours. This makes him related to Venus. The small planet is therefore also historically called the morning and evening stars.
Elusive
Features of the motion of Mercury and proximity to the Sun make it difficult to observe. Ideal locations for this are low latitudes and the equator. Mercury is best seen during the period of maximum distance from the Sun (this time is called elongation). In middle latitudes, the probability of seeing the planet closest to the Sun is greatly reduced. This is only possible during the best elongations. For observers from high latitudes, Mercury is not available.
The visibility of the planet is cyclical. The period is from 3.5 to 4.5 months. If Mercury, moving in orbit, for the earth observer overtakes the daylight in a clockwise direction, then at this time it can be seen in the morning. When he is behind the Sun, there is a chance to observe the fastest planet of the system in the evening. Each time Mercury is visible for about ten days.
Thus, this planet is called the morning star is justified. However, this “nickname” of Mercury is not known to everyone for obvious reasons: to see it in the sky is a rare success due to its proximity to the daylight, as well as its relatively small size.
So which planet is called the morning star? With all certainty, we can say that a similar question implies the answer “Venus”, less often “Mercury” and almost never, although this is possible, “Jupiter”. The planet, named after the goddess of love, due to its proximity to the Earth and its high reflectivity, and hence its brightness, is more visible to the inexperienced astronomy observer, and therefore will always firmly take the place of the most beautiful morning star.