Conjunction of Moon & Venus February 2025

Conjunction Background: Occasionally, two or more objects meet up with each other in our sky. Astronomers use the word conjunction to describe these meetings. The word conjunction comes from Latin, meaning to join together.
In astronomy, a conjunction occurs when two astronomical objects or spacecraft appear to be close to each other in the sky.
This means they have either the same right ascension or the same ecliptic longitude, usually as observed from Earth.
When two objects always appear close to the ecliptic—such as two planets, the Moon and a planet, or the Sun and a planet—this fact implies an apparent close approach between the objects as seen in the sky.
A related word, appulse, is the minimum apparent separation in the sky of two astronomical objects.
Conjunctions involve either two objects in the Solar System or one object in the Solar System and a more distant object, such as a star. A conjunction is an apparent phenomenon caused by the observer's perspective: the two objects involved are not actually close to one another in space.
Conjunctions between two bright objects close to the ecliptic, such as two bright planets, can be seen with the naked eye.
You can keep up to date with upcoming conjunctions by visiting 'Earthsky.org'

Description: On May 18, 2026, the Moon and Venus will appear very close together in the evening sky across the United States and mid-northern latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, creating a visually striking celestial conjunction
The closest Moon–Venus conjunction of the evening apparition, with the Moon passing about 2°56’ north of Venus at around 21:50 EDT
This event is best observed after sunset, when the crescent Moon and bright Venus are visible near the western horizon.
The conjunction is purely a line-of-sight phenomenon, meaning the two bodies appear near each other from Earth, though they are far apart in space.
Venus will shine at magnitude –4.0, the “Evening Star”
Moon will be magnitude –10.0, very bright and easily visible
The pair will be too far apart for a telescope to show them as touching, but they will appear close enough to the naked eye or binoculars
This is one of the best Moon–Venus conjunctions of 2026, and it’s part of a broader “planet parade” in May, with Jupiter, Venus, and later Mercury also visible after sunset.
The May 19 alignment with Jupiter is especially rare and dramatic.

Conjunction of Moon, Venus, Jupiter annotated

Conjunction of Moon & Venus

Conjunction of Moon & Venus with Jupiter

Imaging Details

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