Between July 7 and July 17, Venus will put on two evening-sky shows: first passing close to Regulus, the brightest star in Leo the Lion, and then appearing near a waxing crescent moon.
Both events are easy to see with the naked eye and offer excellent opportunities for casual skywatchers and photographers alike.
Look low in the western sky after sunset for both events. Viewing times and positions are best suited for observers at mid-northern latitudes; check a local skywatching app for exact timing in your area.
When to look: Around 9:45 p.m. local daylight time in mid-twilight.
Where to look: Low in the western sky for Venus and Regulus; west-northwest for Venus and the crescent moon.
Best tools: Both events are visible to the unaided eye, but binoculars will improve the view.
Venus meets Regulus
The first celestial meeting will be when Venus aligns with the blue-white star Regulus, the brightest star of Leo, the Lion. Six stars in Leo form a large backward question-mark shape, popularly known as the Sickle. Regulus is at the end of the handle. It was one of the four “royal stars” which were supposed long ago to rule over the four quarters of the heavens. On the list of the 21 brightest stars, Regulus is number 21, but at least it’s on the list.
Key dates
Silvery white Venus and blue-white Regulus will be 3 degrees or less apart from July 7 through 12th and will be closest — just one degree apart — on July 9.
July 7: We see them side by side, Venus on the right, Regulus on the left.
July 9: They’re somewhat closer, with Venus to the upper right of Regulus.
July 11: The gap between them will be noticeably wider with Venus sitting to the upper left of Regulus. Look low toward the west around 9:45 p.m. In late twilight, both planet and star will be readily visible to the unaided eye. The difference between the two is considerable: Venus will outshine Regulus some 158 times; binoculars will enhance the view.
Venus pairs with the moon
Then, on July 17 comes the second meeting, this time with the moon. The moon will be 3.5 days past new phase, a slender crescent 17% illuminated, sitting to the left of Venus. They will not be particularly close together, being separated by about 6 degrees by mid-twilight. Regardless, both will attract attention, calling even casual observers to look at them as they descend toward the west-northwest sky, finally setting at around 10:30 p.m. As was the case with Regulus, binoculars will enhance the view of Venus with the moon. You’ll no doubt notice earthshine — sunlight reflected from off the Earth toward the moon, which will faintly illuminate its dark part with a greyish-blue glow, seemingly imparting a three-dimensional effect.
What’s next for Venus?
Near the start of this year, Venus was situated behind the sun at superior conjunction (on Jan. 6) and entered the evening sky, yet it was hidden from our view for many weeks due to its proximity to the sun. But Venus rapidly climbed out of the bright evening twilight during March, becoming by far the most brilliant of all the “stars,” and by mid-June it stood nearly 30 degrees above the sunset horizon and was setting 2.5 hours after the sun.
Since then, Venus has taken a track placing it increasingly to the south of the sun’s path across the sky. The result of this is that although its angular distance from the sun continues to increase, this is balanced out by its southerly track, which in the coming days and weeks will cause it to become progressively lower and set gradually earlier relative to the sun.
As such, compared to now, Venus will be noticeably lower in the western evening sky at its greatest elongation (46 degrees) on Aug. 15. Come the end of September, it rapidly sinks, appearing as an increasingly large, thinning crescent through telescopes and steadily held binoculars. At mid-northern latitudes, we’ll have to struggle to catch it very low in the west-northwest soon after sunset during the final nights of September. It falls past the sun on October 24th — well south of it (6 degrees) at this inferior conjunction, so any chance of trying to get a glimpse of it on those evenings and mornings of adjacent days will be solely for those who reside south of the equator, in the Southern Hemisphere.
But during November, it will dramatically sprout up into the morning sky, ultimately grabbing the attention of early risers and providing us with a perfect “Star in the East” adorning the predawn sky during the Christmas season.
If you’re looking for a telescope or binoculars to observe the night sky, our guides for the best binocular deals and the best telescope deals can help. Our best cameras for astrophotography and best lenses for astrophotography can help you get ready to capture the next stunning skywatching event.
Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York’s Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for Natural History magazine, Sky and Telescope, The Old Farmer’s Almanac and other publications.
