Astronomy Essentials

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

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August 9, 2026
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!

Venus after sunset in August 2026

In August 2026, Venus – Earth’s brightest neighboring planet – will be shining in the western twilight after sunset. You can’t miss Venus! It’s exceedingly bright and will penetrate the bright twilight. It’ll remain visible in the evening sky through October. Greatest elongation – when Venus will reach its farthest distance from the sunset – is at 6 UTC on August 15, 2026. Venus will reach its greatest brilliancy in the evening sky on September 18, 2026.

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). Venus is the brightest planet visible from Earth and shines brilliantly throughout every morning or evening apparition. Greatest elongation happens when Venus is farthest from the sun on the sky’s dome.

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)

When will greatest elongation occur?

Greatest elongation will occur at 6 UTC on August 15, 2026 (1 a.m. CDT). Venus will be in our evening sky, in the west after sunset. At this elongation, the distance of Venus from the sun on the sky’s dome will be 46 degrees. Then, after greatest elongation, Venus will sink toward the sunset as it races toward its sweep between the Earth and sun around October 24, 2026.
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.

April 2026 Venus finder charts

A thin crescent shape, the moon, lies above a large starred dot, Venus, and below five small dots, the Pleiades star cluster. They all are far above a wavy line, the horizon.
On the evenings of April 18 and 19, check out the pretty waxing crescent moon. It’ll hang low in the western sky after sunset. And it’ll be near the brilliant planet Venus. Look for them about an hour after sunset. On April 18, it’ll make a close pass by brilliant Venus. Then on the next evening, it’ll lie near the famous Pleiades star cluster, also known as the 7 Sisters. The bright orange giant star Aldebaran is nearby. The Pleiades star cluster and Aldebaran are in the constellation Taurus the Bull. They’ll set before midnight. Chart via EarthSky.
A crescent shape is above a dot, the star Aldebaran, and five small dots, the Pleiades star cluster. They are all above a starred dot, Venus, which is immediately above a wavy line, the horizon.
On April 20, about 90 minutes after sunset, the waxing crescent moon will hang near Venus. The bright star Aldebaran and the delicate Pleiades star cluster will lie between them. They’ll set around midnight. Chart via EarthSky.
Two charts showing a starred dot, Venus, hanging above a wavy line representing the western horizon. On the first, the starred dot is far below five small dots, the Pleiades and a dot, the star Aldebarn. On the second, the starred dot is between the five small dots and the other dot. They are all above a wavy line, the horizon.
In the first half of April, brilliant Venus will be low in the west, near the Pleiades star cluster and the orange star Aldebaran. By month’s end, Venus has climbed higher, moving between the Pleiades and Aldebaran. It’ll set about 90 minutes after sunset on April 1. And it’ll set about 2 hours after sunset on April 30. The waxing crescent moon will be near Venus on April 19. 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: 3 asymmetrical humps, 2 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: Arced 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: Arced 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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