April 22, 2026: Venus shines near the Pleiades after sunset. Use a binocular to see Taurus’ fainter stars and spot Uranus nearby, with Jupiter and the moon higher in the sky.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 6:00 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 7:40 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
Planets Tonight
Venus, Jupiter, and the moon are in the western sky after sunset. Meanwhile, Mercury, Mars, Saturn, and Neptune are veiled by bright morning twilight.
Venus
Step outside an hour after sunset and look toward the west-northwest. Brilliant Venus is over 10° above the west-northwest horizon. The Evening Star is visible as early as 30 minutes after sunset.
As the sky darkens further, use a binocular to see Venus and Taurus’ Pleiades star cluster in the same field of view. Tonight, Venus is 3.9° to Alcyone’s lower left, the brightest Pleiad. Venus is 1.4° to Uranus’ lower right.
While these articles have declared Uranus’ observing window closed for this apparition, Venus’ proximity may assist in the more-distant planet’s sighting, placing Uranus in the same binocular field with the brilliant planet and the stellar bundle.
Venus steps eastward each night in front of Taurus, outlined by Aldebaran, the Hyades, Zeta Tauri, and Elnath. It passes red-orange Aldebaran on May 1 and between the horns—Elnath and Zeta Tauri—on May 13.
Jupiter, Moon, Gemini
As the planet moves eastward, it closes a gap to Jupiter, nearly 50° to the upper left. Their conjunction occurs on June 9. The Jovian Giant is over halfway from the west-southwest horizon to overhead. Tonight, it is the bright star to the moon’s lower left.
Jupiter slowly rambles eastward in front of Gemini, near the Twins—Castor and Pollux. Note that Jupiter, the moon, and Castor are nearly in a line spanning 8.4°. Use a binocular to see the planet 1.0° from Wasat. Jupiter passes by on April 30.
Each night, watch Venus, Jupiter, and the moon move eastward. A binocular is helpful to watch Venus move against Taurus’ distant starfield.
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