By what factor does Venus shine brighter than Jupiter when both are at their brightest observable magnitudes?
Answer
Over six times brighter
The difference in apparent magnitude between Venus and Jupiter at their peak brightness is significant enough to cause a striking visual disparity. Venus can achieve an extremely bright magnitude of approximately -4.9, whereas Jupiter generally peaks around -3.0. Since a difference of one magnitude corresponds to a brightness ratio of about 2.5 times, a difference of nearly two magnitudes means Venus shines more than six times brighter than Jupiter. This quantitative difference explains why Venus is consistently described as dominating the sky, unlike any other natural object except the Moon.
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