Did you see a smiley face moon Friday morning?

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A smiley face moon on April 25, 2025?

If you’ve been on social media lately, you might have seen the claim that a smiley face, made up of the crescent moon and two bright planets, would grace our skies Friday morning. Was it true? Well … sort of. Although the example most gave (like the image above) are definitely an exaggeration!

There was a thin crescent moon in the sky before dawn, with bright Venus and Saturn nearby. And it did look a little like a smiley face, depending on where you live. From some countries, the mouth (moon) was far too close or too far away to the eyes. And U.K. and U.S. viewers saw the face lying on its side, close to the horizon. But the main difference between reality and the image that circulated – true for everyone across the globe – is that the two planets making up the eyes have vastly different brightnesses, with Venus totally outshining Saturn.

Photos of the smiley face moon from April 25

We’ve already received photos from our EarthSky community sharing what they saw in the sky on the morning of April 25. With some imagination, you could make out a smiley face in some of the images. But in others, well, not so much. Even so, it’s still a beautiful view of the crescent moon plus brilliant Venus and dim Saturn. Check out some of the images below, and see more at EarthSky Community Photos.

Here’s what was in the sky on April 25

The moon, Venus and Saturn

For a more accurate view of what appeared in the sky on the morning of April 25, check out the charts above. The moon was just two days from reaching new moon phase, so it was about 8% lit. You may have also seen the dark part of the moon gently glowing with earthshine, which is light reflected from Earth. This glow could also have taken away from your perception of the moon being just a smile surrounded by darkness.

The brilliant point of light that rose just before the moon was Venus. It’s the brightest planet from Earth’s perspective. The reason it looks so bright is because it’s relatively nearby in space and has a reflective atmosphere.

Then, if you looked closely, and the sun hadn’t started to leak too much daylight into the sky, you might have spotted much dimmer Saturn, the second “eye.”

And, just as a fun FYI, there were two other planets within this lovely view. But they were too dim compared to the brightening dawn. Mercury was trailing the moon up from the horizon. And Neptune was between the moon and Saturn.

For a precise view of what the sky looked like from your house on the morning of April 25, try Stellarium online.

Bottom line: Did you see a smiley face moon on April 25, 2025? Get accurate information here and check out community photos of the triple conjunction.

Why is Venus so bright in our Earth’s sky?

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