Year of Venus: How to see the 'evening star' at its best in 2025
December 28, 2024
In early 2025, Venus will dazzle in the southwest sky after sunset, earning its "evening star" nickname.
This phenomenon, which occurs when Venus gets close to Earth, happens once every 19 months.
However, as Venus brightens, it will retreat to a slim crescent as it goes through its astonishing moon-phase-like dichotomy.
Here's everything you need to know about Venus in 2025.
Venus as the "evening star" and "morning star"
As seen from Earth, Venus doesn't cross the night sky as the slower-moving planets appear to do.
Instead, it can be seen only near sunrise and sunset, moving from "morning star" to "evening star" and back again every 584 days, or about 19 months.
Venus orbits the sun every 225 days, compared with Earth's 365-day orbit. Those orbital periods combine to create an eight-year cycle in which Venus appears to orbit the sun 13 times, as seen from Earth.
During that time, Venus traces a pentagram pattern in Earth's sky every eight years.
Because Venus is closer to the sun than Earth is and orbits faster, from Earth's point of view, Venus is always seen close to the sun, just after sunset, when it's called the "evening star," or just before sunrise, when it's dubbed the "morning star."
About once every 19 months, Venus gets exceptionally bright because it gets closer to Earth than any other planet and because its global clouds reflect a lot of sunlight.
Venus has spent much of the second half of 2024 climbing higher into the post-sunset night sky as the "evening star," but in 2025, its position above the western horizon will peak and then quickly decrease.
On Jan. 10, 2025, Venus will reach its greatest elongation east in the post-sunset sky, putting it high above the western horizon after dark.
From Earth's point of view, this is the farthest it appears to be from the sun in its current apparition. A few days later, it reaches dichotomy, which is when a planet's disk is half lit by the sun as seen from Earth.
In the following weeks, Venus will get closer to Earth and appear to shrink to a crescent. Just 23% of it will be lit by Feb. 19, when it reaches its highest point in the post-sunset sky.
By that time, it will be shining at a brilliant magnitude -4.9. (Lower magnitudes are brighter.) If you have a small telescope, point it at Venus in January and February 2025 to see the planet's phase change.
With a telescope, you'll be able to see Venus appear to grow as it gets closer to Earth. In fact, during the planet's dichotomy, the size of Venus' disk will increase by about 60% between Jan. 12 and Feb. 16.
Want to get an up-close look at the planets? Check out our guides to the best telescopes and best binoculars.
Plus, we have tips for how to photograph the planets, as well as guides to the best cameras for astrophotography and the best lenses for astrophotography.
After its dichotomy and performance as a brilliant "evening star" in the southwest after dark during early 2025, Venus will move into the sun's glare in March and emerge the following month as the "morning star."
Here are some important dates for Venus in 2025:
Jan. 3, 2025: Crescent moon and Venus after sunset (separated by 1.4 degrees)
Jan. 10, 2025: Venus at its greatest elongation east after sunset (47.2 degrees angular distance from the sun)
Jan. 12, 2025: Venus at dichotomy (a half-moon shape)
Jan. 18, 2025: Venus-Saturn conjunction after sunset (separated by 2.2 degrees)
Feb. 1, 2025: Crescent moon and Venus after sunset (separated by 2.3 degrees)
Feb. 16, 2025: Venus at its brightest in the evening sky
March 22, 2025: Venus at inferior conjunction (between Earth and the sun)
April 22, 2025: Venus at its brightest in the morning sky
April 24, 2025: Crescent moon and Venus before sunrise (separated by 2.4 degrees)
May 31, 2025: Venus at its greatest elongation west before sunrise (45.9 degrees angular distance from the sun)
Aug. 12, 2025: Venus-Jupiter conjunction before sunrise (separated by 0.9 degrees)
Sept. 19, 2025: Crescent moon and Venus before sunrise (separated by 0.8 degrees)
https://www.space.com/stargazing/year-of-venus-how-to-see-the-evening-star-at-its-best-in-2025