“Morning star” and “evening star” refer to any bright “star” in the eastern twilight sky before sunrise or in the western twilight sky after sunset.
Most commonly, ever-brilliant Venus is our morning star or evening star. However, sometimes bright Jupiter will be prominent in the morning sky or in the evening sky and fits the bill.
At a dark-sky location, if Venus or Jupiter are not in the morning or evening sky, Sirius, the brightest true star in the sky, may be considered a morning star or an evening star.
Friday, Venus has the unusual role of being both the morning star and the evening star. Venus rises at 7:15 a.m., while the sun rises at 7:26 a.m. Venus will be five degrees to the upper-left (north) of the rising sun. To see Venus in the predawn sky, you will need a very clear eastern horizon and low-power binoculars.
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At noon, Venus will be five degrees above the sun. To see Venus, block the sun behind a building and search for it just above the sun.
Be safe and DON’T use binoculars. If you look in exactly the right spot, you can see Venus with your unaided eye. It is surprisingly bright in the daytime sky.
Friday night, the sun sets at 5:37 p.m. and Venus sets at 5:50 p.m. After sunset, Venus will be five degrees to the upper-right (north) of the sun. Just after sunset, look for Venus with low-power binoculars. When using binoculars, be extremely careful to only look for Venus before sunrise or after sunset to avoid looking at the sun!
After this dual role, Venus settles down to be our morning star for a while.