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by Statis Kalyvas - VT-2004 programme.)
• And at such times - when the disk is large, because Venus is nearby - we see Venus show phases, like a little crescent moon. Imagine if we could see the whole day side when Venus was closest - wow! Venus would be bright indeed. But you can't see that. Instead, when Venus passes between us and the sun, its day side is facing away from us. That's why Venus is always brightest when the planet is in a crescent phase - about five weeks before and after its passage between us and the sun - when the size of the disk in our sky is still large, but some significant fraction of the day side is showing.
• And there you have it. Greatest illuminated extent. It's the combination of big disk size for Venus and fraction of Venus' day side visible to us. Although Venus' disk will be less than 27% illuminated by sunlight tomorrow morning, Venus' illuminated portion will cover more square area on the sky's dome than at a fuller or thinner phase.
• After tomorrow, Venus' phase will actually increase - like a waxing moon. But the faster, smaller orbit of Venus will carry it farther ahead of Earth. The distance between our two worlds will be increasing. From Earth, we'll see the overall disk of Venus shrink as its distance from us increases. Venus will dim somewhat as the morning "star," but this dazzling world - as always - will continue to shine as the third-most-brilliant heavenly body, after the sun and moon.
• If you're up before the sun, that other brilliant star-like point of light near Venus is the dazzling planet Jupiter. Although fainter than Venus, Jupiter is the fourth-brightest celestial body to light up the heavens, after the sun, moon and Venus. Enjoy the spectacular morning drama, as Venus reaches its greatest illuminated extent on July 12, 2012 - shining at its brightest in mid-July 2012 in the east before sunup!