{"id":65397,"date":"2026-09-05T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/?guid=dae5087192e7f4c1fda6c1bfe7201b2c"},"modified":"2026-09-05T15:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T15:00:00","slug":"venus-is-disappearing-from-the-evening-sky-heres-how-to-see-it-while-you-can","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/2026\/09\/05\/venus-is-disappearing-from-the-evening-sky-heres-how-to-see-it-while-you-can\/","title":{"rendered":"Venus is disappearing from the evening sky \u2014 here&#8217;s how to see it while you can"},"content":{"rendered":"\n                            \n                            <article>\n                                <p>Soon, the sky's most glamorous evening performer will take its leave. <\/p><p>Since late March, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.space.com\/44-venus-second-planet-from-the-sun-brightest-planet-in-solar-system.html\"><u>Venus<\/u><\/a> has been the unmistakable \"Evening Star,\" gleaming shortly after sunset and stealing attention from nearly everything else in the twilight. In June, it helped stage a striking three-planet lineup after sundown, outshining both <a href=\"https:\/\/www.space.com\/7-jupiter-largest-planet-solar-system.html\"><u>Jupiter<\/u><\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.space.com\/36-mercury-the-suns-closest-planetary-neighbor.html\"><u>Mercury<\/u><\/a>. <\/p><p>Now the curtain is beginning to fall: Venus is sinking night by night and will trade its evening role for a morning one before October is over.<\/p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/content.jwplatform.com\/players\/9H2WQAZs.html\" id=\"9H2WQAZs\" title=\"Sept. 2026 Skywatching: Venus at Peak Brilliance, Harvest Moon & Saturn\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"auto\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><h2 id=\"a-familiar-dance-around-the-sun\">A familiar dance around the sun<\/h2><p>Venus moves to a remarkably regular beat. Our nearest planetary neighbor circles <a href=\"https:\/\/www.space.com\/58-the-sun-formation-facts-and-characteristics.html\"><u>the sun<\/u><\/a> in an almost perfect path, completing 13 orbits in 8 Earth years. From <a href=\"https:\/\/www.space.com\/54-earth-history-composition-and-atmosphere.html\"><u>Earth<\/u><\/a>, that rhythm makes Venus appear to trace five great loops across the sky in the same span. It is a long cycle noticed by skywatchers \u2014 and important to the ancient <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Aztecs\"><u>Aztec<\/u><\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Maya_civilization\"><u>Mayan<\/u><\/a> civilizations \u2014 and it gives each Venus year its own recognizable personality. In 2026, the pattern closely echoes 2018, differing by only about two days.<\/p><h2 id=\"key-dates-this-month\">Key dates this month<\/h2><p>Venus is about to blaze at peak brilliance, but this farewell performance comes with a challenge. All month long, the planet will slide lower in the southwest after sunset, shortening the window for a good view. If the horizon is clear and the weather cooperates, these are the evenings to circle on your skywatching calendar.<\/p><ul><li><strong>Sept. 7:<\/strong> On Labor Day, Venus sets about 1\u00bc hours after sunset.<\/li><li><strong>Sept. 14:<\/strong> Look low in the west-southwest 30 to 45 minutes after sunset, when a waxing crescent moon appears around 5\u00bd degrees to the left of Venus.<\/li><li><strong>Sept. 18:<\/strong> Venus reaches <a href=\"https:\/\/www.space.com\/stargazing\/can-venus-cast-a-shadow-heres-how-to-see-it-for-yourself\"><u>greatest brilliancy<\/u><\/a>, shining at a dazzling <a href=\"https:\/\/www.space.com\/21640-star-luminosity-and-magnitude.html\"><u>magnitude<\/u><\/a> of <br>-4.8 near the horizon.<\/li><li><strong>Late September:<\/strong> The planet slips quickly from view, setting just 35 minutes after sundown by month's end.<\/li><\/ul><figure class=\"van-image-figure  inline-layout\" data-bordeaux-image-check ><div class='image-full-width-wrapper'><div class='image-widthsetter' style=\"max-width:596px;\"><p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:56.21%;\"><img id=\"YeH8PChbZbNsQqUqfsArA7\" name=\"MOON & VENUS SEPT. 14 (1)\" alt=\"night sky graphic showing Venus shining close to the delicate crescent moon.\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/v2\/t:51,l:0,cw:596,ch:335,q:80\/YeH8PChbZbNsQqUqfsArA7.jpg\" mos=\"\" align=\"middle\" fullscreen=\"1\" width=\"596\" height=\"404\" attribution=\"\" endorsement=\"\" class=\"inline expandable\"><a href='https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/v2\/t:51,l:0,cw:596,ch:335,q:80\/YeH8PChbZbNsQqUqfsArA7.jpg'  class='expand-button icon-expand-image icon' ><\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div><figcaption itemprop=\"caption description\" class=\" inline-layout\"><span class=\"caption-text\">Venus shines near a waxing crescent moon very low in the southwestern sky, 45 minutes after sunset on Sept. 14. <\/span><span class=\"credit\" itemprop=\"copyrightHolder\">(Image credit: Starry Night Pro 8.0)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure><h2 id=\"why-this-farewell-is-so-low-key\">Why this farewell is so low-key<\/h2><p>Ordinarily, the weeks between greatest elongation and greatest brilliancy are prime time for Venus watchers. Not this year. For evening observers, this apparition has been more frustrating than triumphant, with Venus lingering low in the glow of twilight instead of climbing into a commanding position.<\/p><p>The best views came back in June, when Venus lingered until around 11 p.m. Since then, it has been ducking out earlier each night. By Aug. 15, the evening of greatest elongation \u2014 when Venus reached its greatest apparent distance east of the sun \u2014 it was already setting just as evening twilight faded.<\/p><p>For observers at mid-northern latitudes, the finale is especially low to the horizon. Around 40 degrees north latitude, Venus will stand only about 5\u00bd degrees above the southwest horizon at sunset by the end of September. That is barely more than half the width of your clenched fist held at arm's length \u2014 a beautiful but fleeting target in the fading light.<\/p><h2 id=\"a-crescent-world-in-the-twilight\">A crescent world in the twilight<\/h2><p>Through a telescope, Venus now shows one of its most striking faces: a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.space.com\/venus-crescent-night-sky-disappearing-soon\"><u>narrowing crescent.<\/u><\/a> As its sunlit side turns farther away from Earth, that crescent grows thinner and longer, becoming a delicate arc of brilliant light. With very steady binoculars, you may even glimpse the shape during the next couple of weeks, though the planet's low altitude will make the view shimmer and blur.<\/p><figure class=\"van-image-figure  inline-layout\" data-bordeaux-image-check ><div class='image-full-width-wrapper'><div class='image-widthsetter' style=\"max-width:2560px;\"><p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:56.25%;\"><img id=\"fWJb98JcQ896PGHAtDVSte\" name=\"GettyImages-90757901\" alt=\"composite image showing 4 views of venus becoming an increasing crescent.\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/fWJb98JcQ896PGHAtDVSte.jpg\" mos=\"\" align=\"middle\" fullscreen=\"1\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1440\" attribution=\"\" endorsement=\"\" class=\"inline expandable\"><a href='https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/fWJb98JcQ896PGHAtDVSte.jpg'  class='expand-button icon-expand-image icon' ><\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div><figcaption itemprop=\"caption description\" class=\" inline-layout\"><span class=\"caption-text\">Set of images taken in 2004 show the phases and relative size of Venus as seen from Earth as it moves around the Sun. <\/span><span class=\"credit\" itemprop=\"copyrightHolder\">(Image credit: Photograph by Jamie Cooper. (Photo by SSPL\/Getty Images))<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure><h2 id=\"the-morning-star-returns\">The morning star returns<\/h2><p>By the end of the first week of October, Venus will have slipped from the evening sky altogether. It reaches inferior conjunction on Oct. 24, passing about 6 degrees south of the sun. Around that time, spotting it on nearby evenings or mornings will be extremely difficult.<\/p><p>But Venus never stays away for long. In November, it reappears before dawn, opening a brilliant new morning apparition. By the winter holidays, it will shine high in the eastern sky as a fitting \"Christmas Star,\" rising more than two hours before daybreak \u2014 and nearly four hours before the sun.<\/p><p><em>Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amnh.org\/our-research\/hayden-planetarium\" ><u><em>Hayden Planetarium<\/em><\/u><\/a><em>. He writes about astronomy for <\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.naturalhistorymag.com\/\" ><u><em>Natural History magazine<\/em><\/u><\/a><em>, <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/skyandtelescope.org\/\" ><u><em>Sky and Telescope<\/em><\/u><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.almanac.com\/\" ><u><em>The Old Farmer's Almanac <\/em><\/u><\/a><em>and other publications.<\/em><\/p>\n                                                            <\/article>\n                            \n                        ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Venus is sinking lower into the sunset this September, but the brilliant Evening Star won&#8217;t be gone for long.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":929,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2794],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-65397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-stargazing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65397"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/929"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65397"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65397\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65398,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65397\/revisions\/65398"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}