Venus, often called the Earth's twin, is popularly known as the:

Venus is called the Morning Star when it shines brightly in the eastern sky before sunrise, and the Evening Star when it appears in the western sky after sunset.

Why Venus is so bright:

• After the Moon, Venus is the brightest natural object in the night sky.
• Its thick clouds of sulphuric acid reflect about 70 percent of the sunlight that falls on them.
• It is also relatively close to the Earth.
• At its brightest, Venus can even cast faint shadows and can sometimes be seen in daylight.

Why it is seen only near sunrise or sunset:

• Venus orbits closer to the Sun than the Earth does.
• So, from the Earth, it never appears far from the Sun in the sky, at most about 47 degrees away.
• It is therefore visible only in the morning or evening twilight, never in the middle of the night.

Other names:

• The ancient Greeks at first thought the morning and evening appearances were two different objects and called them Phosphorus and Hesperus.
• The Romans called the morning star Lucifer ("light-bringer").
• In India, Venus is called Shukra, and in Hindi it is also called "Bhor ka tara" (morning star) and "Sanjh ka tara" (evening star).

Why Venus is called Earth's twin:

• It is similar to the Earth in size, mass and density.
• It is the planet that comes closest to the Earth.

Differences from Earth:

• Despite the similarities, Venus is extremely hot, with a surface temperature of about 465 degrees Celsius.
• Its atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide and its surface pressure is about 90 times that of Earth.
• A day on Venus (one rotation) is longer than its year.

Transit of Venus:

Occasionally, Venus passes directly between the Earth and the Sun, appearing as a small dark dot crossing the Sun. The last transits occurred in 2004 and 2012; the next will be in 2117.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Red Planet is Mars.
• ✗Blue Planet is the Earth, because of its oceans.
• ✗Ringed Planet usually refers to Saturn.