Venus and the Pleiades . ... Credit Copyright: David Cortner Explanation: Venus still rules the western skies after sunset as the brilliant evening star. ... The view offers a study in contrasts as Venus appears about 700 times brighter than Alcyone, the Pleiades brightest star . With Venus just over 5 light-minutes from Earth, Alcyone and the other Pleiades cluster stars are about 400 light-years distant. ... The stars of the Pleiades are likely aged a mere hundred million years. ...