Venus and Clouds

Gray clouds and a bright dot.  But that bright dot is amazing, it is the planet Venus, one of the brightest objects in the sky, when it is in view.  Venus has phases like the Moon, and right now it is half illuminated, the way the Moon each month, is half illuminated.  Venus is slowly getting closer to us and growing larger in size, but it is becoming less illuminated and by the end of the month it will be just as. bright, but it will only be a crescent.  But you would need to use a telescope to see the phases of Venus.  Venus now is an "evening star" which means we see it after sunset.  Soon it will set and not be visible for a while and then in early November it will be a "morning star" rise in the east before the sun but may not be visible before sunrise until mid to late November.  Don't forget to look for it in the east then,  It will be just as bright and as beautiful as it is in the western sky. The magic of the planet Venus.