April 19, 2026: Venus, Jupiter, and a crescent moon strike a pose after sunset with Taurus and Gemini. Look west-northwest for earthshine and the Pleiades.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 6:04 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 7:36 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
Celestial Sights on Spring Nights
On April evenings, with a bright planet or two, a crescent moon, and the celestial backdrop of Taurus and Gemini, striking views of the western sky unfold after sunset. Tonight is one of those evenings with Venus, Jupiter, and the crescent moon shining against the starry background.
Moon, Taurus
Step outside an hour after sunset and look toward the west-northwest. With a hint of evening twilight, the crescent moon, 9% illuminated, is over 20° above the west-northwest horizon. The lunar night shows earthshine—sunlight reflected from Earth’s oceans, clouds, and land.
A binocular enhances the view of earthshine, easily including the Pleiades star cluster, a stellar bundle that is part of Taurus, 4.6° below the lunar crescent. The constellation is outlined by Aldebaran and the Hyades, showing its head, and Elnath and Zeta Tauri, marking the tips its long horns.
Venus
At this hour, brilliant Venus is about 10° above the west-northwest horizon, nearly 11° below the moon and 6.5° to the Pleiades’ lower left. Tonight, the Evening Star moves in front of the Bull’s rich star fields. Follow its nightly movement with a binocular.
Venus passes the Pleiades in four nights, Aldebaran on May 1, and passes between the horns on May 13.
Jupiter, Gemini
Higher in the sky, bright Jupiter is 50° to Venus’ upper left, noticeably dimmer than Venus. It is over halfway from the west-southwest horizon to overhead.
The Jovian Giant slowly rambles eastward in front of Gemini, near the Twins—Castor and Pollux. Through a binocular, watch it overtake and pass the star Wasat, 1.5° to the upper left.
Venus moves eastward about 10 times faster than Jupiter, overtaking the more distant planet on June 9, resulting in a pretty conjunction near Pollux.
Photograph the Scene
Photograph the western sky to include both planets with Taurus and Gemini or a closeup of the moon with earthshine near the Pleiades. Use a tripod-mounted camera or a steady camera phone with exposures up to 10 seconds. Make multiple images with varying exposure times.
Tomorrow evening the moon continues to wax, appearing near Elnath.
Step outside this evening and look for this pretty celestial display including Venus, Jupiter, Moon, Taurus, and Gemini.
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