When Venus is retrograde and bright
Written on July 18, 2008 by Darrelyn
Hi Adam,
A good question and one that may have confused others. It is perhaps clearer to say that ‘ONE OF THE TIMES she is at her brightest is when Venus goes retrograde’. But remember that Venus goes retrograde at two places in relation to the Sun: one when she is inferior to the Sun and one when she is superior. So when you ask about ’maximum elongation’, you are in fact speaking of Venus when she is superior to the Sun’s position as seen visually from earth. So she will indeed be at her brightest when she goes retrograde but elongation will depend upon her position in relation to the Sun.
Hope this clarifies it for you,
Darrelyn
