Venus shines brightest on Valentine's Day, here's how not to miss it

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Love is in the air - or to be more accurate, the solar system - this Valentine's Day, as Venus dazzles in the evening sky. The countdown to the romantic holiday continues, and astronomers are eagerly anticipating Venus, the planet named after the Roman goddess of love, reaching her greatest brilliancy on February 14.

It is the brightest planet we can see from Earth, outshining all other celestial objects, other than the Moon and Sun. Every so often, Venus has a moment of brilliancy and, this February, the planet has chosen a rather apt date to reach its peak brightness.

On Valentine’s Day (February 14), the planet will appear more than twice as bright as its dimmest moment of 2025, reaching a magnitude of -4.9 – the brightest the planet will appear until September 2026.

It will reach this peak brightness at 10.00pm UK time, according to EarthSky. In the UK, Venus is best seen in the evening sky, just after sunset, looking towards the southwest.