Venus will reach half phase in its 2031–2032 morning apparition. It will be shining brightly at mag -4.4.
From Columbus , this apparition will be exceptionally well placed and prominent, reaching a peak altitude of 42° above the horizon at sunrise on 19 Oct 2031.
2031–2032 morning apparition of Venus
| 10 Aug 2031 | – | Venus at inferior solar conjunction |
| 15 Sep 2031 | – | Venus at greatest brightness |
| 19 Oct 2031 | – | Venus at highest altitude in morning sky |
| 20 Oct 2031 | – | Venus at dichotomy |
| 21 Oct 2031 | – | Venus at greatest elongation west |
| 02 Jun 2032 | – | Venus at superior solar conjunction |
The table below lists the altitude of Venus at sunrise over the course of the apparition. All times are given in Columbus local time.
| Date | Sun rises at |
Venus rises at |
Altitude at sunrise |
Direction at sunrise |
Mag | Phase |
| 20 Aug 2031 | 06:44 | 05:53 | 9° | east | -4.2 | 4% |
| 30 Aug 2031 | 06:54 | 04:58 | 21° | east | -4.4 | 12% |
| 09 Sep 2031 | 07:03 | 04:20 | 30° | east | -4.5 | 21% |
| 19 Sep 2031 | 07:13 | 03:57 | 36° | east | -4.5 | 29% |
| 29 Sep 2031 | 07:22 | 03:47 | 40° | east | -4.5 | 37% |
| 09 Oct 2031 | 07:32 | 03:46 | 42° | south-east | -4.5 | 43% |
| 19 Oct 2031 | 07:43 | 03:51 | 42° | south-east | -4.4 | 49% |
| 29 Oct 2031 | 07:54 | 04:01 | 42° | south-east | -4.3 | 54% |
| 08 Nov 2031 | 07:05 | 03:15 | 40° | south-east | -4.3 | 59% |
| 18 Nov 2031 | 07:17 | 03:30 | 38° | south-east | -4.2 | 64% |
| 28 Nov 2031 | 07:28 | 03:48 | 36° | south-east | -4.2 | 67% |
| 08 Dec 2031 | 07:38 | 04:07 | 33° | south-east | -4.1 | 71% |
| 18 Dec 2031 | 07:45 | 04:27 | 29° | south-east | -4.1 | 74% |
| 28 Dec 2031 | 07:50 | 04:48 | 26° | south-east | -4.1 | 77% |
| 07 Jan 2032 | 07:51 | 05:09 | 23° | south-east | -4.0 | 80% |
Altitude of Venus at sunrise
A graph of the phase of Venus is available here.
Apparitions of Venus
| 27 Oct 2029 | – | Evening apparition |
| 18 Mar 2030 | – | Morning apparition |
| 02 Jun 2031 | – | Evening apparition |
| 21 Oct 2031 | – | Morning apparition |
| 07 Jan 2033 | – | Evening apparition |
| 29 May 2033 | – | Morning apparition |
| 12 Aug 2034 | – | Evening apparition |
Observing Venus
Venus's orbit lies closer to the Sun than the Earth's, meaning that it always appears close to the Sun and is lost in the Sun's glare much of the time.
It is observable for a few months each time it reaches greatest separation from the Sun – moments referred to as greatest elongation. These apparitions repeat roughly once every 1.6 years.
On these occasions, Venus is so bright and conspicuous that it becomes the third brightest object in the sky after the Sun and Moon. It is often called the morning star or the evening star.
Venus's phase
Venus's phase varies depending on its position relative to the Earth. When it passes between the Earth and Sun, for example, the side that is turned towards the Earth is entirely unilluminated, like a new moon.
Conversely, when it lies opposite to the Earth in its orbit, passing almost behind the Sun, it appears fully illuminated, like a full moon. However, at this time it is also at its most distant from the Earth, so it is actually fainter than at other times.
Venus shows an intermediate half phase – called dichotomy – at roughly the same moment that it appears furthest from the Sun, at greatest elongation. The exact times of the two events may differ by a few days, only because Venus's orbit is not quite perfectly aligned with the ecliptic.
Venus's position
The coordinates of Venus when it reaches dichotomy will be:
| Object | Right Ascension | Declination | Constellation | Angular Size |
| Venus | 10h45m50s | 7°24'N | Leo | 24.3" |
| Sun | 13h38m | 10°12'S | Virgo | 32'07" |
The coordinates above are given in J2000.0.
The sky on 20 Oct 2031
| The sky on 20 October 2031 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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24% 4 days old |
All times shown in EDT.
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Source
The circumstances of this event were computed using the DE430 planetary ephemeris published by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
This event was automatically generated by searching the ephemeris for planetary alignments which are of interest to amateur astronomers, and the text above was generated based on an estimate of your location.
Related news
| 19 Oct 2031 | – Venus at highest altitude in morning sky |
| 21 Oct 2031 | – Venus at greatest elongation west |
| 07 Jan 2033 | – Venus at greatest elongation east |
| 31 Jan 2033 | – Venus at highest altitude in evening sky |
Image credit
© NASA/Ricardo Nunes