Residents of Bashkiria will see Venus at its maximum distance from Sun

On August 15, Venus will be at its greatest eastern elongation — the maximum angular distance from the Sun, which will be 46 degrees.

As reported by the Ufa City Planetarium, this period is traditionally considered the most favorable for observing the planet; however, in this case, the conditions will be difficult. Venus is currently in the evening phase and sets in the west just an hour after the Sun so that it can be observed for less than an hour against the bright evening twilight.

After August 15, Venus will gradually approach the Sun, and the duration of its evening visibility will decrease. By October 24, the planet will enter inferior conjunction with the Sun, after which it will move to the morning sky and become visible before dawn.

Interestingly, because Venus sometimes appears in the sky in the evening and sometimes in the morning, in ancient times it was mistaken for two different planets. The Greeks called the morning star Phosphoros ("light-bringer") and the evening star Hesperos ("star of the evening"). Later, when astronomers realized it was the same celestial body, the planet was named after the goddess of love, Aphrodite, or, among the Romans, Venus.