Why are Mercury and Venus generally invisible at night?

sequoianoir

Venus and Mercury are nearer the Sun than the Earth is. Once the Sun has set (after sunset) and before sunrise the orbits of both these planets also 'sets'. Mercury first and then Venus. Depending where each planet is in respect of its own orbit, determines whether it sets before or after the Sun does. Accordingly Mercury can only be seen low in the west after sunset or low in the east before sunrise. Venus , although the brightest object in the night sky apart from the Moon, can only be seen with the naked eye in the morning or evening. I suppose one exception where they can be seen 'at night' is during a total solar eclipse ! Dec 08 02, 3:39 PM

Socrates

It is intersting to note that Venus, like the moon, can on occasion be seen in full daylight, and warships have even been known to fire at it, mistaking it for an enemy balloon. Dec 08 02, 7:48 PM

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