VENUS REACHES GREATEST EASTERN ELONGATION – ONE OF THE BEST TIMES TO OBSERVE THE BRILLIANTLY BRIGHT PLANET VENUS - 10/01/2025
On the 10th of January the brilliantly bright planet Venus will appear at its furthest distance (around 47.2 degrees) away from the Sun in our post sunset sky, this event is known as “Greatest Eastern Elongation”.
If you look towards the South-West following sunset (and before 8:31pm when the planet sets) you will be able to spot the unmistakably bright star-like point of light in the sky which is the planet Venus.
Although it will appear at its furthest distance away from the Sun on the 10th, all throughout January Venus will be very easy to spot in the early evening skies.
VENUS - AKA THE MORNING/EVENING STAR
Venus is the second-brightest natural object visible in the sky after the Moon. It is often the first star-like point of light that appears following sunset or the last point of light to disappear before sunrise. This characteristic gives rise to its nickname - the morning star or the evening star.
As one of the two inferior planets in the Solar System, Venus will usually appear fairly close by to the Sun. Because of this, Venus can be quite hard to spot a lot of the time. However, for a fair amount of time surrounding its greatest Eastern or Western Elongation, it is much easier to observe.
VENUS APPEARING EVEN BRIGHTER THROUGHOUT JANUARY AND EARLY FEBRUARY
One other interesting fact to note is, although Venus is extremely bright at the moment shining at an apparent magnitude of -4.23, it will appear even brighter in 5 weeks’ time from now. As Venus continues its orbit around the Sun it will appear to travel closer to the Sun, however throughout the rest of January and early February Venus will also continue to shine even brighter until on Valentine's Day - the 14th of February (during the planets crescent phase), it will be shining at an amazing apparent magnitude of around -4.4!
All in all, early evening throughout January and early February will be an excellent time to observe the incredibly bright planet Venus.
WHAT ELSE IS IN THE NIGHT SKY THROUGHOUT JANUARY
If you would like to know more about the other amazing nighttime sights that can be seen throughout January, please head to our YouTube channel to watch our Night Sky Guide for January 2025.
If you head out to enjoy the night sky at any time in the near future, we wish you good luck and clear skies!
