Muscat-  Venus will shine at its brightest in the evening sky over Oman on Tuesday, reaching an apparent magnitude of approximately −4.8, making it the brightest planet in the sky and the third-brightest celestial body visible from Earth after the Sun and Moon.

Wissal Salim Al Hinai, Chairperson of the Community Communication Committee at the Oman Astronomical and Space Society, said Venus is distinguished by its striking brightness and will appear as an intensely luminous point that can be easily seen with the naked eye, even in areas affected by light pollution.

She said the planet’s brightness is due to its relative proximity to Earth and its high capacity to reflect sunlight.

Al Hinai explained that Venus’s maximum brilliance does not necessarily coincide with its greatest angular distance from the Sun. The planet reached its greatest eastern elongation in August, when it attained its largest angular distance east of the Sun as seen from Earth, allowing it to appear clearly in the evening sky after sunset.

She urged astronomy enthusiasts to observe Venus from locations with an unobstructed western horizon, away from buildings and elevations that could obstruct the view.

Naked-eye observation requires no special astronomical equipment, she said, while telescopes can reveal Venus’s crescent phase and details of its apparent form.

Venus is the brightest planet in the solar system as seen from Earth. It is commonly known as the “Evening Star” when visible after sunset and the “Morning Star” when it appears before sunrise, with its brilliance resulting from sunlight reflected by its dense atmosphere.