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Why is Venus the brightest planet seen from Earth?
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Venus
Venus photographed in ultraviolet light by the Pioneer Venus Orbiter (Pioneer 12) spacecraft, February 26, 1979. Although Venus's cloud cover is nearly featureless in visible light, ultraviolet imaging reveals distinctive structure and pattern, including global-scale V-shaped bands that open toward the west (left). Added color in the image emulates Venus's yellow-white appearance to the eye.
Venus is the most brilliant planet in the sky when it is visible from Earth. Its exceptional brightness is primarily due to its high albedo, which is a measure of the fraction of light reflected by a body.12
Venus is shrouded in a dense, continuous layer of clouds that reflects approximately 85 percent of the sunlight that strikes them. Because of this thick cloud cover, the planet possesses a high Bond albedo of 0.75, meaning it reflects a significant portion of incident solar radiation back into space. This reflective quality, combined with the planet's relatively close proximity to Earth, results in its luminous, jewel-like appearance in the sky.321