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Venus "brighter" than Moon
Venus is far more reflective than the Moon. The albedo (fraction light reflected) of Venus is 0.65 while the average is 0.12 for the Moon. The albedo for the Moon is even less at low phases angles because there are more shadows. This means the brightness per unit area (angular area on sky as well) is much higher for Venus. So Venus is easier to see when magnified and against a bright background.
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