<\/p>\n Nothing mysterious is happening \u2014 it’s just the latest installment of a predictable eight-year pattern during which Venus orbits the sun<\/a> 13 times and completes five apparent circuits around the sky, as seen from Earth. Each circuit includes one period when Venus appears east of the sun in the evening sky \u2014 becoming the Evening Star \u2014 and one period when it appears west of the sun before dawn as the Morning Star.<\/p>\n You may like<\/p>\n So, Venus becomes the Evening Star<\/a> for a few months about five times every eight years. As a mathematical pattern, it’s exquisite and \u2014 in my opinion \u2014 quietly awesome \u2014 but it’s virtually unknown.<\/p>\n The good news, of course, is that after passing behind the sun earlier this year, the second planet from the sun is now rising to dominate as the “Evening Star” \u2014 and is set to be the centerpiece in a spectacular “summer of Venus.”<\/p>\n What’s happening and when to look at Venus<\/p>\n \n Though only partly illuminated, Venus appears brighter as it moves closer to Earth, growing into a striking crescent in the evening sky. (Image credit: Christophe Lehenaff via Getty Images)<\/p>\n Right now, Venus is emerging into one of its evening apparitions \u2014 and beginning a slow, spectacular climb.<\/p>\n At the moment, Venus is about 84% illuminated \u2014 a gibbous phase \u2014 and decreasing. But that’s not the key to its brightness. What matters is what it’s doing.<\/p>\n Venus is currently moving along its orbit, bringing it closer to Earth. Night by night, the distance between our two planets is shrinking. As it does, Venus appears larger in the sky \u2014 and that increase in apparent size more than compensates for the fact that we’re seeing less of its sunlit side.<\/p>\n So over the coming months, two things happen at once: Venus grows larger as it approaches Earth<\/a>, and its phase shrinks from gibbous to a thin crescent. The result is counterintuitive: Venus gets brighter as it becomes less full.<\/p>\n By early June, Venus will be prominent well into the night, with key moments including:<\/p>\n What to read next<\/p>\n How and when I’m watching Venus<\/p>\n \n Venus is following its regular cycle \u2014 shifting from a gibbous phase toward a thin, brilliant crescent. (Image credit: Alan Dyer\/Stocktrek Images via Getty Images)<\/p>\n Summer 2026 will be a great one for stargazers, with perhaps the highlight being August 12’s triple header \u2014 a total solar eclipse<\/a> (albeit only total in Greenland, Iceland and Spain, but visible as a partial across northwestern Europe), the peak of the Perseid meteor shower<\/a>, and Venus entering its dazzling crescent phase.<\/p>\n I generally don’t make a big deal of observing Venus when it’s the Evening Star. If I’m camping or renting a cottage in the country, I’ll check the aspect. Still, mostly I observe it casually, from my backyard after dinner, and when walking home, pausing on the sidewalk for a minute before going inside. I look west, find it quickly, and take a mental note. Is it higher than yesterday? Is it getting brighter? That’s usually enough because what you’re really watching is a nearby world overtaking us on the inside track.<\/p>\n There are exceptions to my casual planet-gazing. One is the Venus-Jupiter conjunction on June 9. The other is its greatest brilliancy on September 18, when it will be just 26% lit. This is when it shines at its absolute brightest \u2014 the turning point of the entire cycle.<\/p>\n By then, Venus is much closer to Earth, so its apparent disk has swollen dramatically. Even though only a crescent is sunlit, that crescent is huge in angular size \u2014 reflecting far more total light toward us than when it appeared smaller and fuller. It’s a perfect balance between phase, distance and the high albedo of its global cloud deck. Not too far, not too thin, and just cloudy enough \u2014 just the point where geometry and meteorology deliver maximum brilliance.<\/p>\n With educated eyes, the question changes from, “What is that bright light?” to “Where is Venus in its journey?” Watching Venus rise and fall is going to be one of the highlights of summer.<\/p>\n Stargazer’s corner: May 15-21, 2026<\/p>\n \n See Venus and a crescent moon this week. (Image credit: Christophe Lehenaff via Getty Images)<\/p>\n With a new moon<\/a> on Saturday, May 16, this coming week is perfect for watching a crescent wax in the west just after sunset. On Monday, May 18, a 7%-illuminated crescent will hang about two degrees from Venus, with Jupiter<\/a> about 20 degrees above. The distance between Venus and Jupiter will reduce with every passing night until they appear to pass close to each other on June 9 in a stunning close conjunction. Turn southeast, and you’ll find Arcturus<\/a> high in the sky with Spica<\/a> lower down, while Vega<\/a> rises in the northeast.<\/p>\n Constellation of the week: Corvus<\/p>\n \n Corvus, the crow, is a kite-shaped constellation found in the south during May. (Image credit: E. Slawik\/NOIRLab\/NSF\/AURA\/M. Zamani), outline and background added in Canva Pro.)<\/p>\n Corvus is not a famous constellation, but it should be. Supposedly a crow or a raven, but looking more like a sail, Corvus is five stars that form a small, slightly skewed quadrilateral that stands out because it’s in a part of the sky filled with faint constellations<\/a>. Always low in the south during spring and summer, this week, Corvus is just below the right of bright star Spica. Its four brightest stars \u2014 Gienah, Algorab, Kraz and Minkar \u2014 are relatively easy to find, but it’s the fifth star, Alchiba, which is very close to Algorab, but outside the sail, that gives Corvus its distinctive shape. Corvus is easy to overlook, but once you see it, you won’t forget it.<\/p>\n My latest stargazing obsession<\/p>\n \n Your outstretched hand can be a helpful skywatching tool. (Image credit: Created in Canva Pro)<\/p>\n The night sky<\/a> is a map, but it’s always moving. That happens simply because Earth revolves, but the planets also move across the sky, further complicating things. It’s why stargazers think in terms of separation \u2014 how far one thing sits from another \u2014 rather than looking for objects in the sky at fixed points. You’ll often hear that the moon is five degrees from a planet, or that two planets are within a single degree. The night sky is a sphere, and we see 180\u00b0 from horizon to horizon, with 90\u00b0 directly above (the zenith). A simple way to measure degrees of distance is to use your outstretched hand as a scale. A finger-width is about a degree, three middle fingers are five degrees, and a fist is 10 degrees, giving you a rough but reliable measure of angular distance. By estimating distances in the night sky, you begin to read it, navigate it, and know it. It’s what stargazing for life is all about.<\/p>\n If you’re looking for a telescope or binoculars to observe the night sky, our guides for the best binocular deals<\/a> and the best telescope deals<\/a> can help. Our best cameras for astrophotography<\/a> and best lenses for astrophotography<\/a> can help you get ready to capture the next stunning skywatching event.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"“What’s that bright light in the sky?” a friend messaged me the other evening. “Venus,” I replied, without…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":487433,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[270],"tags":[18,19,17,133,451],"class_list":{"0":"post-487432","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-eire","9":"tag-ie","10":"tag-ireland","11":"tag-science","12":"tag-space"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116583379041306018","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487432","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=487432"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487432\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/487433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=487432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=487432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=487432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"thin](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/RWVedHPdqTP9sFh2JH9T85.jpg\")
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