Venus at western elongation
Venus is at western elongation, meaning it is west of the sun in our sky. So it rises before sunrise and sets before sunset.
So Venus is visible near the eastern horizon before sunrise during its western elongation, and it’s measured in degrees as our sky is a dome.
Venus at greatest western elongation
Venus is at greatest western elongation, meaning it is as far west of the sun as possible in our sky. So it rises as early before sunrise as possible and sets as early before sunset as possible.
At its greatest western elongation, the Sun-Earth-Venus angle is as large as possible. Venus can reach as high as 47.3°W and as low as 45.4°W from the sun at its greatest western elongation.
Venus at its greatest western elongation marks the best time to observe Venus near the eastern horizon before sunrise. At that time, Venus appears nearly in its first quarter phase in the sky.
How often does Venus reach its greatest western elongation?
Venus takes about 584 days to orbit the sun with respect to Earth, called the synodic period of Venus.
That’s why Venus reaches its greatest western elongation once every 584 days.
Venus at greatest western elongation in June 2025
Venus will reach its greatest western elongation on June 1, 2025, at 02:00 UTC (10 p.m. EDT on May 31), when the planet will be 45.9°W from the sun on our sky’s dome.
After the greatest western elongation, Venus will slowly approach the sunrise glare as it moves towards its sweep behind the sun on January 6, 2026 – its superior conjunction position.
When to see Venus: Venus will be visible from early April 2025 through late October 2025 in the morning sky.
Where to look: Look near the eastern horizon (in the sunrise direction) around an hour before sunrise for Venus.
Brightness of Venus: After emerging in the morning sky in early April, Venus’s brightness will slowly increase until it reaches its greatest brilliancy (peak brightness) in late April, and after that, its brightness will slowly decrease for the rest of morning apparition.
Venus will shine with a magnitude of -4.2 in early April, with a magnitude of -4.4 in late April, and with a magnitude of -3.8 in late October.
Venus will shine with a magnitude of -4.2 near its greatest western elongation (on the morning of June 1, 2025).
Visibility through the naked eye: Venus will be easily visible to the naked eye as it appears brighter than all the stars in the night sky. It is the brightest planet visible from Earth.
Visibility through a telescope: Venus will appear 50% illuminated (on its first quarter phase) and 23.8 arcseconds in diameter near its greatest western elongation (on the morning of June 1, 2025). After that, Venus will become thicker and smaller day by day until it reaches its superior conjunction position.
Visibility throughout the globe: Venus’s greatest western elongation in June 2025 will favor observers in the southern hemisphere.
Venus will climb higher in the eastern sky before sunrise in the southern hemisphere than in the northern hemisphere due to the higher slope of the ecliptic, making the planet easier to observe.
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