Bright Venus . ... That's no star, that's planet Venus the second "rock" from the Sun . Blazing at -4.6 magnitude , Venus, after the Sun and Moon, is the third brightest celestial body in planet Earth's sky . ... This causes Venus to look brighter as it looms large in its crescent phases than when it is smaller and nearly full. Taken on January 28th, this dramatic picture finds a crescent Venus near its brightest to the right of a crescent Moon. ... NASA Official: Jay Norris. ...