Venus looks completely round and the moon a sliver of a crescent. What does that tell us?
The sun is almost completely behind the moon (from Earth) and almost exactly in front of Venus (from earth), so Venus is on the far side of the Sun in its orbit, not the same side of the Sun we are on in our orbit. It’s something like the opening scene of “2001: A Space Odyssey” but with Venus Sun Moon Earth.
You may say, then why don’t I see the Sun? The angular size of the moon is only about half a degree from Earth. The Sun is not far out of the shot.
“The moon? The sun! It is not moonlight now.”
“I say it is the moon that shines so bright.”
“I know it is the sun that shines so bright.”
Outstanding analysis there! Thanks, takebackaustin.