Venus this month

Venus is 7° from the Sun on 26 October 2026, too close to see in its glare. It shines at magnitude −4.2 in Virgo.

Magnitude: −4.2
Constellation: Virgo
From the Sun: 7° west
Distance: 0.27 AU (41 million km)
Apparent size: 61.1″
Position: RA 13h 41m, Dec -17.1°

Venus wrapped in pale cream and tan clouds. NASA/JPL-Caltech, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Rise and set today in six cities

City	Sunset	Venus rises	Venus sets	Sunrise
London	16:44	06:48	15:54	06:43
New York	17:59	07:14	17:17	07:19
Los Angeles	18:05	06:57	17:26	07:07
Singapore	18:50	06:27	18:26	06:46
Sydney	19:17	05:29	19:06	06:01
Cape Town	19:09	05:18	18:55	05:52

Local times on 26 October 2026. A planet that rises before sunset and sets after it is up in the evening; one that rises in the small hours is a morning object.

The year ahead

Angular distance from the Sun as seen from Earth. Inside the shaded band (15°) a planet is lost in twilight.

Coming events

Greatest morning elongation: 3 January 2027, 17:58 UTC, 47.0° from the Sun
Superior conjunction: 12 August 2027, 00:20 UTC (behind the Sun, not visible)
Greatest evening elongation: 22 March 2028, 12:26 UTC, 46.1° from the Sun
Inferior conjunction: 1 June 2028, 10:00 UTC (between Earth and the Sun, not visible)
Greatest morning elongation: 10 August 2028, 16:03 UTC, 45.8° from the Sun
Superior conjunction: 23 March 2029, 20:11 UTC (behind the Sun, not visible)
Greatest evening elongation: 27 October 2029, 10:52 UTC, 47.0° from the Sun

Close approaches

7 November 2026: the Moon and Venus 1.0° apart
4 March 2027: the Moon and Venus 2.0° apart
4 April 2027: the Moon and Venus 2.9° apart
7 May 2027: Venus and Saturn 0.6° apart
25 November 2027: Venus and Mars 0.3° apart
30 November 2027: the Moon and Venus 0.9° apart
30 December 2027: the Moon and Venus 2.9° apart
30 March 2028: the Moon and Venus 0.9° apart

Seeing Venus

After the Moon, Venus is the brightest natural object in the night sky, bright enough to cast faint shadows from a dark site and often reported as a UFO. It is the 'evening star' for months at a time, then swings between Earth and the Sun to reappear as the 'morning star'. Through binoculars or a small telescope it shows phases like a small Moon.