January 30-February 1, 2025: The waxing crescent moon joins the evening planet parade near Saturn and Venus. A super crescent moon appears with Venus.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Times for the appearances of the evening planets and the moon are relative to sunset. Find sunset times in local sources.
After sundown, four bright planets are along an arc of the solar system’s plane. From the southwest to east, the planets are Saturn, Venus, Jupiter, and Mars.
Venus-Super Crescent Moon
After the New moon and the Lunar New Year, the crescent moon enters the southwestern sky. With brilliant Venus and Saturn near the moon’s orbital path, during two evenings, the scenes are striking.
Additionally, the crescent moon is at its closest point to Earth, known as perigee. For this reason, we call this Venus-Moon conjunction a “super crescent,” defined here as a Venus-Moon conjunction occurring within 24 hours of the moon’s perigee. If the moon were in its full phase, it would be called a supermoon.
Here’s What to See
Here is what to look for at 45 minutes after nightfall.
- January 30: Brilliant Venus is over 30° above the west-southwest horizon and 10.0° below Saturn. The crescent moon, 3% illuminated, is over 5° above the horizon and over 25° to Venus’ lower right. To find the lunar crescent, find an observing spot with a clear view toward the west-southwest.
- January 31: Brilliant Venus is again in the west-southwest, 10.7° above Saturn. Tonight, the lunar crescent, 8% illuminated, is 3.4° to Saturn’s lower right. Look for earthshine – sunlight reflected by Earth’s oceans, clouds, and land – that softly lights the lunar night. Photograph it with camera exposures up to a few seconds.
- February 1: This evening the lunar crescent and Venus appear together. Venus is near its brightest point and the moon, 15% illuminated, is only 2.4° to the planet’s lower left. This is a stunning sight—a super crescent moon paired with Venus near its brightest! Saturn is 11.4° below Venus. All of them are easily captured in a single photographic image along with the moon’s earthshine. Wait until at least 90 minutes after sundown, to see Venus, Neptune, and the crescent moon through a binocular.
Look for the moon during these three evenings, highlighted by the Venus-super crescent Moon.
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