Evening 'star' returns after winter hiatus

The Galileo probe spied Venus in this 1990 color-enhanced image, showing cloud structures that resemble those on Earth.

(CNN) -- Brighter as seen from Earth than any other star or planet, Venus will reappear in the evening sky in the coming weeks -- after seeming to vanish behind the sun early this year.

Dedicated observers should be able to locate the planet within an hour after sunset in the final days of February. Casual sky watchers may spot it more easily by the middle of March.

Orbiting second-closest among the planets to the sun, Venus went behind its parent star from an Earthly viewpoint in January, seemingly becoming lost in the sun's intense brightness.

Now, from our vantage point, Venus appears to be moving progressively farther away from the sun. By the end of March it should set about 90 minutes after the sun does.

May display ahead

Dubbed the morning and evening "star" because of its propensity to rise or set near the sun, Venus seems to us to shine more brightly than any celestial object except the sun and moon.

In May, the planet will put on a more dramatic show, joining its siblings Mercury, Mars and Saturn in a picturesque planetary alignment.

Venus will ascend to its highest position in our night sky in the late summer, sink toward the sun and then appear to vanish again in the evening twilight by October, according to astronomers.

The cloud-cloaked sphere will reappear as the "morning star" a month later.

While Venus is associated with the ancient-Roman goddess of love, it would hardly offer a compassionate reception to humans. Despite its similarity to Earth in mass and diameter, the planet is the hottest in our system.

The surface sizzles at 880 degrees Fahrenheit (470 degrees Celsius) -- hot enough to melt lead -- in large part because its crushing atmosphere generates a runaway greenhouse effect.