Morning star                                                                                  Evening star           see Evening star                                                                                   see Morning star
 This information is taken from the World Book Encyclopedia 
EVENING STAR is a planet that can be seen after sunset. The planet Venus and Mercury are most often seen as the evening stars. Because these two planets move in orbits smaller than the earth's orbit,  they appear to move from one side of the sun to the other.  Therefore, these two planets can be seen only in the western sky after sunset or in the eastern sky before sunrise.  When either planet is seen at sunrise,  it is called a morning star.
Planets are not really stars,  but members of our own solar system.  They do not give off their own light as stars do.  They shine by reflecting sunlight.  Ancient people thought planets were wandering stars.  They did not realize that the planet seen in the evening was the same planet they saw in the mornings.  Therefore, they gave the evening and morning stars different names.  The Greeks called Venus Hesperus as an evening star and Phosphorus as a morning star.  The Romans called it Vesper as an evening star and Lucifer as a morning star.  Mercury was called by its present name as an evening star,  but Apollo as a morning star.      by Elizabeth Roemer
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