Venus in culture the night sky, and follows a synodic cycle by which it seems to disappear for several says due to its proximity to the sun, then re-appear on the opposite side of the sun and on the other horizon. Depending on the point in its cycle, Venus may appear before sunrise in the morning, or after sunset in the evening, but it never appears to reach the apex of the sky. Therefore, many cultures have recognized it with two names, even if their astronomers realized that it was really one object. In old English, the planet was known as "morgensteorra" (morning
Mercury (planet) its greatest eastern elongation happens only during late winter in the Southern Hemisphere. In both of these cases, the angle at which the planet's orbit intersects the horizon is maximized, allowing it to rise several hours before sunrise in the former instance and not set until several hours after sundown in the latter from southern mid-latitudes, such as Argentina and South Africa. An alternate method for viewing Mercury involves observing the planet during daylight hours when conditions are clear, ideally when it is at its greatest elongation. This allows the planet to be found easily, even when using telescopes with