Astronomy Essentials

Venus greatest distance from the sun August 14-15, 2026

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Editors of EarthSky
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August 9, 2026
Sky chart: 2 positions of crescent moon along slanted ecliptic line, 1 at horizon and 1 slightly higher next to Venus.
Venus will be farthest from the sunset – at greatest elongation – on August 14 and 15. And, by chance, it’ll also be near the moon on those evenings! Notice Virgo’s bright star, Spica, also nearby. Chart via EarthSky.

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Venus after sunset in August 2026

In August 2026, Venus – the planet next inward from Earth, and the brightest planet in Earth’s sky – will be shining in the west after sunset. You can’t miss Venus! It’s exceedingly bright and will penetrate the bright evening twilight. It’ll remain visible in the evening sky through October, 2026, when it’ll drop into the sunset glare. And between now and then is an exciting time to view Venus.

Greatest elongation – when Venus will reach its farthest distance from the sunset – will happen at 6 UTC on August 15, 2026. For all of Earth, the western twilight will still be the time and place to look for Venus. Around the evening of August 15, Venus will be near the young moon.

Plus there’s a bright star near Venus now in the evening twilight. It’s Spica, brightest star in the constellation Virgo. Venus and Spica are drawing closer together on the sky’s dome. Their conjunction will fall on September 2-3, 2026, shortly before Spica disappears into the sunset.

Afterwards, shortly before Venus itself drops into the sunset, Venus will reach another greatest brilliancy in the evening sky. That’ll happen around September 18, 2026.

So start watching Venus now!

For precise sun and Venus rising times at your location:

Old Farmer’s Almanac (U.S. and Canada)

timeanddate.com (worldwide)

Stellarium (free online planetarium program)

Sequence of disks increasing in size and decreasing in shape - from a half disk to a thin crescent.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | P Govardhana Siddartha of India submitted this composite of Venus taken over 4 months. Venus was recorded from December 2024 to March 2025. Venus was at its greatest distance from the sun in January 2025. You can see how the size of Venus increases and the phase decreases on its way to inferior conjunction. That’s when it passes between Earth and the sun, which last occurred in March 2025 and will occur next on October 24, 2026. Thank you, P Govardhana!

When is greatest elongation?

Greatest elongation will happen at 6 UTC on August 15, 2026 (1 a.m. CDT). Still, no matter where you are on Earth, watch for Venus in the west after sunset. At this elongation, the distance of Venus from the sun on the sky’s dome will be 46 degrees. The maximum possible distance (angular separation) of Venus from the sun on the sky’s dome at greatest elongation is approximately 47.3 degrees.

Magnitude at greatest elongation: Venus will be shining at magnitude -4.4.
Through a telescope: Venus will appear 49% illuminated, near a first quarter phase, 24.48 arcseconds across.

As the 2nd planet in orbit (going outward from the sun), Venus is bound by an invisible tether to the sun in our sky. It’s always east before sunrise, or west after sunset (never overhead at midnight).

2026 Venus finder charts

Sky chart: A bright dot, Spica, and an even brighter one, Venus, along the slanted ecliptic line.
Can you still see both Venus and Spica on August 21? If so, notice that they’re now closer, heading for a conjunction on the evening of September 2-3, 2026. Chart via EarthSky.
Sky chart: dots for Venus and Spica in twilight along slanted ecliptic line.
And can you see both Spica on August 27? The bright twilight will be overtaking Spica. But Venus will be getting brighter heading for another greatest brilliancy around September 18, 2026. Chart via EarthSky.
A crescent shape, the moon, moves past a starred dot, Venus. They are above a wavy line, the horizon.
Shortly after sunset on September 13 and 14, the thin waxing crescent moon will join up with the brilliant planet Venus. In fact, Venus is at its greatest brilliancy this week! Venus will slip away in the evening twilight next month and emerge in the morning sky in November. Also, at 11 UTC on September 14, observers in parts of Asia, Africa, and Europe will see the moon occult – or pass in front of – Venus. Chart via EarthSky.

A comparison of elongations

Not all of Venus’ greatest elongations are created equal. That’s because the farthest from the sun that Venus can ever appear on the sky’s dome is about 47.3 degrees. On the other hand, the least distance is around 45.4 degrees.

Elongations are also higher or lower depending on the time of year they occur and your location on Earth.

Diagram: 2 asymmetrical solid-color humps, 1 gray and 1 blue, with arced lines in them and dates.
A comparison chart of Venus elongations in 2026 and 2027. Gray areas represent evening apparitions (eastward elongation). The blue area represents morning apparitions (westward elongation). The top figures are the maximum elongations, reached at the top dates shown beneath. Curves show the altitude of the planet above the horizon at sunrise or sunset, for latitude 40 degrees north (thick line) and 35 degrees south (thin). Maxima are reached at the parenthesized dates below (40 degrees north bold). Chart via Guy Ottewell’s 2026 Astronomical Calendar. Used with permission.

More Venus evening elongation comparisons for 2026

Diagram: Looped path of Venus over the horizon, phases showing, with dates beside them.
Venus’ greatest evening elongation in 2026 from the Northern Hemisphere as viewed through a powerful telescope. The planet images are at the 1st, 11th, and 21st of each month. Dots show the actual positions of Venus every day. Chart via Guy Ottewell’s 2026 Astronomical Calendar. Used with permission.
Diagram: Large looped path of Venus over the horizon, phases showing, with dates beside them.
Venus’ greatest evening elongation in 2026 from the Southern Hemisphere as viewed through a powerful telescope. The planet images are at the 1st, 11th, and 21st of each month. Dots show the actual positions of Venus every day. Chart via Guy Ottewell’s 2026 Astronomical Calendar. Used with permission.

Venus events in 2026

January 6, 2026: Superior conjunction (passed behind sun from Earth)
August 15, 2026: Greatest elongation (evening)
October 24, 2026: Inferior conjunction (races between Earth and sun)
January 3, 2027: Greatest elongation (morning)

Bottom line: Look for Venus after sunset! It’s high in the August evening sky for all to see. Look west for a dazzling point of light.

Posted 
August 9, 2026
 in 
Astronomy Essentials

Editors of EarthSky

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