SkyEye

The upper chart shows the path of Venus across the background stars over the course of the year. Stars to magnitude +4.5 are shown with some fainter objects included to complete constellation patterns. The white circles represent the planet on the first day of the month and are scaled according to apparent magnitude. The faint paths before the first circle and after the last circle represent the planet's positions in December of last year and January of next. In general, the planet moves from right to left except when it's in retrograde and proceding in the opposite direction. As an inferior planet, Venus never strays far from the Sun so it always begins and ends the year near the constellation of Sagittarius, located about one quarter of the way in from the left side of the chart.

The lower charts show how the appearance of Venus changes over the year. Below each image is listed the date, the apparent magnitude, the apparent diameter of the disk (in arc-seconds), the geocentric distance (in au), the elongation from the Sun (in degrees) and the percentage of the disk which is illuminated. Like the Moon, Venus exhibits a complete range of phases, from new to crescent to gibbous to full and back again. Unlike the Moon, however, Venus takes over a year to complete this phase cycle. Note how Venus is at its brightest during its crescent phase, when it is relatively close to the Earth.

Venus is not visible at the beginning of the year, undergoing superior conjunction on 6 January, and entering into the evening sky at the end of the month. It remains fairly low in the west through February and March but ultimately puts on a fine show for observers south of the equator where it peaks in altitude around the time of greatest elongation east in mid-August. It is a poorer apparition for those in northern temperate latitudes, with the evening star heading back toward the horizon in June. Northerners lose sight of Venus in September whereas those in the southern hemisphere retain the evening star until well into October. After undergoing inferior conjunction in late October, the morning star returns to the east. It continues to gain altitude above the horizon until the end of the year for those in the south but peaks in December for early risers in the northern hemisphere. Venus is at its most brilliant, magnitude −4.7, at the beginning of its reign in the morning sky. The bright planet is occulted by the Moon three times and pairs up with Jupiter in the June evening sky.

All times and dates are in UT with the time given to the nearest hour unless otherwise indicated. Positions are geocentric apparent places and referred to the true equator and equinox of date. Diagrams showing the position of Venus above the eastern and western horizons at sunrise and sunset for various latitudes are available here.