Venus will reach its brightest in the morning sky on April 24, 2025. (Photo credit: Orchidpoet via Getty Images)
Head outside an hour before sunrise on Thursday, April 24, and if the weather is clear, you'll see a spectacular sight in the east: Venus, shining at magnitude -4.4—its brightest as seen from Earth will be visible until September 22, 2026.
Venus is currently known as the “Morning Star” because it rises in the east and shines brightly just before sunrise. This has been the case since March 22, when the planet passed between Earth and the Sun and was lost in sunlight for several weeks.
The event is called an inferior conjunction of Venus with the Sun, according to In-The-Sky.org. The planet previously shone brightly as the “Evening Star” in the west just after sunset, reaching magnitude -4.6 on February 16. (Smaller magnitudes indicate brighter objects.)
Venus has been especially bright in recent months because of its close proximity to Earth. In fact, Venus circles the inside of Earth during its 225-day orbit around the Sun. Since Earth takes longer than 365 days to complete its orbit, Venus must approach Earth, complete its journey, and then move away.
As a result, Venus appears significantly larger and brighter from our perspective. But that’s not the only thing happening to it. If you use a good telescope on April 24, you’ll see that despite its brightness, Venus will appear as a crescent moon, 23% illuminated. Just as we see the Moon as a crescent moon orbiting the Earth, we see the inner planets — Venus and Mercury — as crescent moons orbiting the Sun. Check back next month, on May 24, and Venus will shine at magnitude -4.2 and be 45% illuminated.
Although Venus will be brightest from Earth on April 24, it will remain bright throughout the rest of April. If you have clear skies on April 25, you will see an 8% illuminated crescent just below Venus, and Saturn will be just below Venus throughout April. All three celestial objects will temporarily form a smile in the sky.
Jamie CarterNavigate Social LinksLive Science Contributor
Jamie Carter is a freelance journalist and regular Live Science contributor based in Cardiff, UK. He is the author of The Beginner's Guide to Stargazing and lectures on astronomy and the natural world. Jamie regularly writes for Space.com, TechRadar.com, Forbes Science, BBC Wildlife magazine, and Scientific American, among others. He edits WhenIsTheNextEclipse.com.
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