Venus will be at its absolute brightest on April 28th, and here’s how you can spot it
The planet Venus is the second-brightest heavenly body in the night sky, after the moon. Though you can spot it in the sky right now, in just a few days Venus will be the brightest it’s been all year. It’s going to be hard to miss it no matter where you live on Earth. As long as you have a clear sky, Venus—aka the Evening Star—will give you quite the show.
On April 28th at about 9 p.m. ET, Venus will reach its greatest illuminated extent—meaning it will be at its brightest compared to the rest of the year.
According to Earth Sky, Venus at its greatest illuminated extent is about three times brighter than it is at its faintest. It has been visibly sparkling in the evening sky since August 14th, 2019, but you can see it best directly after the sun sets. It will appear about 40 degrees above the horizon in the west. Again, because it’s the sparkliest thing up there, it’s hard to miss. You won’t need a telescope or anything.
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Venus will fade into dawn come June 3rd, 2020. So we have to soak up as much of the Evening Star’s splendor as we can while it’s still in view.
Although Venus is the brightest planet in our solar system (in our eyes, anyway), if you view Venus through a telescope, you’ll notice it actually takes the shape of a crescent due to its position between the sun and Earth. It’s only illuminated about 25%, as Earth Sky reports, but that doesn’t stop it from being the brightest body in the sky.
If you miss Venus’s brightest night, don’t fret. It will also enter into a “greatest illuminated extent” as a Morning Star come July 10th. It won’t be as bright as the extent in April, but it will still be something to behold.
Look west on April 28th, and check out Venus’s best show of the year.
