Venus (Planet)
© NASA/Ricardo Nunes
Finder chart
Click and drag the chart above to pan around the sky, or use the mouse wheel to zoom.
Click to enlarge.
From Cambridge , Venus is difficult to observe as it will appear no higher than 9° above the horizon. It will become visible at around 19:06 (EDT), 9° above your western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. It will then sink towards the horizon, setting 1 hour and 15 minutes after the Sun at 20:03.
Begin typing the name of a town near to you, and then select the town from the list of options
which appear below.
|
Name
Venus
|
Object type
Inferior planet
|
Current position
| Computed for: | 14 March 2026 |
| Right ascension: | 00h35m [2] |
| Declination: | +02°40' [2] |
| Constellation: | Cetus |
| Magnitude: | -3.91 (V) [1] |
| Angular diameter: | 10.0 arcsec[2] |
| Distance: | 1.63 AU 13.52 lightmin [2] |
Orbital elements [2]
| Semi-major axis: | 0.72 AU |
| Eccentricity: | 0.006777 |
| Inclination: | 3.39° |
| Longitude ascending node: | 76.68° |
| Argument of perihelion: | 54.92° |
| Epoch of elements: | 1 Jan 2000 |
| Mean Anomaly at epoch: | 50.38° |
| Absolute mag (H): | -4.34 [1] |
| Slope parameter (n): | 2.00 [1] |
Derived quantities
| Perihelion: | 0.72 AU |
| Aphelion: | 0.73 AU |
| Orbital period: | 0.62 years |
Sources
| [1] | Robin M. Green, Spherical Astronomy, 1985, ISBN 0-521-31779-7 |
| [2] | Explanatory Supplement to the Astronomical Almanac, 2013, Urban & Seidelmann, Eds., Table 8.7, ISBN 978-1-891389-85-6 |
Visibility from Cambridge
All times shown in Cambridge local time.
Events
| 14 May 2026 | – Venus at perihelion |
| 05 Jun 2026 | – Venus at highest altitude in evening sky |
| 17 Jun 2026 | – Lunar occultation of Venus |
| 12 Aug 2026 | – Venus at dichotomy |
| 14 Aug 2026 | – Venus at greatest elongation east |
| 04 Sep 2026 | – Venus at aphelion |
| 14 Sep 2026 | – Lunar occultation of Venus |
| 22 Sep 2026 | – Venus at greatest brightness |
Printable finder charts
