January 6, 2026: Venus reaches superior conjunction today on the sun’s far side, ending its morning apparition and beginning its slow return to the western evening sky.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 7:18 a.m. CST; Sunset, 4:35 p.m. CST. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times.
Venus at Superior Conjunction
Venus is at superior conjunction on the sun’s far side today. This alignment occurs when Venus meets an imaginary line that starts at Earth and extends through the sun. This signals the end of the morning apparition and the beginning of Venus as an Evening Star.
Similarly, Venus crosses that line when it passes between Earth and the sun, known as inferior conjunction, beginning the planet’s stint as a Morning Star.
Today, at superior conjunction, the planet is not easily visible, although it returns to the western evening sky in about five weeks, near the end of February, when it appears with Mercury. The innermost planet reaches its largest angle from the sun, known as greatest elongation, on February 19.
Coincidentally, Mars and Mercury are reaching their solar conjunctions this month as well. Mars reaches conjunction on the 9th, followed by Mercury at superior conjunction on the 21st.
Venus, Evening Star
Inferior planets, Mercury and Venus, are at conjunction with the sun in two instances, creating the need for the terms inferior and superior to distinguish their locations. On the other hand, superior planets, Mars and beyond, have a single conjunction and they appear opposite the sun, while the inferior planets do not. Jupiter is approaching that position when opposition occurs on the 10th.
With three planets on the sun’s far side, Venus passes superior conjunction today enroute to its appearance in the western evening sky.
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