July 20, 2026: Track Venus as the Evening Star during late summer. Watch it move southward along the horizon, approach Spica, and brighten toward maximum brilliance in September.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 5:32 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 8:21 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 in Western Evening Sky
Brilliant Venus, as the Evening Star, dominates the western evening sky. It is brighter than all the other stars in the night sky. As the planet steps eastward along the ecliptic, the solar system’s plane, it mirrors the sun’s summer southward sunset movement along the western horizon.
Tonight, Venus sets about 10° north of west. It sets at the west cardinal direction near summer’s midpoint in early August. It reaches the west-southwest setting point during mid-September.
As the planet appears farther southward, it appears lower in the sky each night as the ecliptic’s angle with the western horizon flattens.
Venus steps eastward in front of Leo, crossing Virgo’s celestial border on August 1. It passes Spica, Virgo’s brightest star, on September 1. The Evening Star reaches maximum brightness on September 23, shining 75% brighter than tonight.
Venus-Spica Conjunction
The planet is beginning to overtake Earth in its faster orbit around the sun. Tonight, through a telescope, Venus is in an evening gibbous phase. It shrinks to an evening half phase near August 15. As Venus grows into a crescent phase, its brightness continues to increase. Venus is brightest when it is a crescent.
On September 19, the planet reaches greatest illuminated extent. The 25% illuminated crescent covers the largest apparent illuminated area in the sky during the Venusian cycle.
From night to night and week to week, watch the planet appear farther southward, grow in brightness, and move toward Spica.
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