April 13, 2026: Venus dominates the western sky after sunset while Jupiter shines higher in the sky. Before sunrise, find a waning crescent moon with earthshine in the east-southeast.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 6:14 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 7:30 p.m. CDT. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times.
Venus as an Evening Star
Venus, Jupiter, Moon
Morning Moon
Venus, Jupiter, and the moon are visible during the nighttime hours. Begin by looking for the waning crescent moon. Step outside an hour before sunrise. The 20% lit crescent is over 10° above the east-southeast horizon.
Look for and photograph earthshine – sunlight reflected from Earth’s clouds, oceans, and land that softly illuminates the lunar night.
Evening Sky, Venus
After sunset, brilliant Venus dominates the western sky. The Evening Star easily shines through the hues of evening twilight, beginning about 30 minutes after sundown. It sets nearly 90 minutes later. By an hour after sunset, it is over 10° above the western horizon.
Venus steps eastward in front of Aries, nearly 15° below the Pleiades star cluster, part of Taurus. The planet passes the cluster in ten nights. Beginning in a week, the planet and star cluster fit into the same binocular field. Venus overtakes Jupiter, nearly 60° to the upper left, on June 9.
Jupiter
Jupiter is the second brightest starlike body in the sky. An hour after sunset, it is two-thirds of the way up in the west-southwest sky. Jupiter slowly rambles eastward in front of Gemini near the Twins – Castor and Pollux. Use a binocular to find it near Wasat. Watch it close in and pass the star at month’s end.
Look for the moon before sunrise. After sunset, find brilliant Venus and Jupiter.
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