... Venus On The Horizon . ... The month of October features a sky full of planets, including Venus as the brilliant evening star. Besides the sun and moon, Venus is the brightest object visible in Earth's sky. This month, Venus appears in early evening near the red planet Mars and Mars' red giant rival Antares above the southwestern horizon. Ice Clouds over Mars . ... The above true color image taken in August by Mars Pathfinder shows clouds of ice high in the Martian atmosphere. ...