Venus superior conjunction June 4
Venus is the brightest planet we see. It orbits the sun one step nearer than Earth. So it stays close to the sun in our sky and is commonly referred to as the morning “star” or the night “star.” When it’s up, you’ll be able to spot Venus simply. And it’ll catch your eye if it’s close to a crescent moon. However the place is Venus now? On June 3 and 4, it’s passing immediately behind the sun.
Previous to early June 2024, Venus spent over eight months as a stunning morning “star.” It reached greatest elongation – its biggest obvious distance from the sun in our sky – on October 23, 2023. It hung low within the east earlier than dawn for a lot of months, earlier than slipping away within the morning daylight in early April. For the previous couple of months, it’s been too near the sun to see. Venus is now touring behind the sun as seen from Earth. It’ll attain its superior conjunction – reaching the identical east-west coordinate because the sun in our sky – at 16 UTC (11 a.m. central) on June 4, 2024.
And, at this 2024 superior conjunction, Venus is passing behind the sun as seen from Earth! See the picture above.
Venus involves a superior conjunction each 584 days. Often, it passes above or beneath the sun in our sky. At each superior conjunction, Venus strikes from our morning sky to our night sky. We are able to’t see Venus now, initially of June 2024. Nevertheless it’ll emerge into our night sky in mid- to late summer time. At the moment, it’ll seem as a shiny mild within the western night twilight: the glittering night “star.”
When will you see Venus within the night? Probably as early as mid-July, and definitely (assuming you’ve a transparent jap horizon) by late July or early August. It’ll be simpler to identify from Earth’s Southern Hemisphere than for us within the north. For all of us, Venus will ascend gradually in the evening twilight all through July and August, 2024. General, at this night apparition, it’ll spend about eight months as a superb mild within the night sky. It’ll disappear once more, passing again into the sun’s glare (in entrance of the sun this time) in March, 2025.

Venus behind the sun
Throughout this superior conjunction of Venus, the planet gained’t simply move close to the sun in our sky. It’ll go briefly behind the sun as seen from Earth. That’s, the sun will occult or move in entrance of Venus. Based on Guy Ottewell in his 2024 Astronomical Calendar:
It ascends by the ecliptic aircraft on June 6, (2024), in order that on the superior conjunction – solely a day and a half earlier – it’s truly occulted by the sun.
When will you subsequent see Venus?
Venus will emerge within the western night twilight in mid- to late July. However, as seen from Earth’s Northern Hemisphere, it’ll be setting lower than an hour after the sun by month’s finish. Fortunately, Venus is the brightest planet, so that you may be capable to spot it low on the horizon. In mid- to late July, search for it about half-hour after sundown. It’s so shiny, it’ll present even within the shiny night twilight.
In August, Venus will change into simpler to identify. It’ll be greatest in 2024 from October by the top of the yr. Sadly for us within the Northern Hemisphere, the autumn months will function the ecliptic – or path of the sun, moon and planets – making a slim angle with the western night horizon. So, round October, November and December, Venus’ distance from the sun will probably be largely sideways with respect to the sun alongside our western horizon, not up above the sun.
However that can change as 2025 opens. Venus will attain greatest elongation – its biggest obvious distant from the sun – on February 4, 2025. And by then the ecliptic will probably be starting to seem extra perpendicular with respect to the sundown. So Venus will probably be respectably excessive within the sky, even from the northern half of Earth’s globe.
Be sure you look ahead to Venus within the weeks round February 15, 2025, when it’ll be heading for one more greatest brilliancy in our sky.
It’ll disappear from view within the night not lengthy after that, going between the Earth and sun.
Pictures of Venus


Backside line: Venus reaches superior conjunction – passing between the sun and Earth – at 16 UTC on June 4, 2024, (11 a.m. CDT).