Venus (pronounced )'s the second-closest planet to the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet's named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love. Except for the Moon it's the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6. Because Venus's an inferior planet from Earth, it never appears to venture far from the Sun: its elongation reaches a maximum of 47.8°. Venus reaches its maximum brightness shortly before sunrise or shortly after sunset,… (More on Venus)