There are some interesting conjunctions involving Venus this weekend, 17–19 April and also next week on 23/24 April 2026.
'Conjunction' is a term in astronomy used to describe the apparent close encounter between two objects in the sky.
That could be a close meeting of a planet and the Moon, or two planets, or the Moon and a bright star, for example.
Of course, these 'meetings' are really just a matter of how we perceive the night sky as a flat canvas from Earth.
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That bright star or planet will in reality be much, much further away than the Moon; those two planets may appear side-by-side, but are infact separated by vast distances across our Solar System.
This week, look out for Venus meeting some of the brightest objects in the night sky at the moment.
Venus is currently quite tricky to see, as it's visible low in the west after sunset, but its position is improving night after night.
In fact, the Venus-Jupiter conjunction in June 2026 is set to be one of the stargazing highlights of the year.
Find Venus tonight, Friday 17 April, in the west after sunset, to get your bearings for the following evenings.
You'll need a clear western horizon as Venus is only visible low-down once the Sun has set.
And make sure to only look for Venus once the Sun has set, as accidentally looking at the Sun with your naked eye could damage your eyesight.
Here's quick breakdown of what's happening this weekend and next week, with more information below.
18 April: Venus is near a crescent Moon and Uranus
19 April: Venus is closer to Venus, the Moon now close to the Pleiades
23/24 April: Venus is even closer to Venus, passing south of the Pleiades
Saturday 18 April
On 18 April, look out for the mag. –3.8 planet above the west-northwest horizon with a beautiful 2%-lit waxing crescent Moon 7.7° to the west of it (to its right and a little lower, as seen from the UK).
Venus will be 6.1° from mag. +5.8 Uranus that night, but bright twilight means you’ll need to let the bright Venus get low before you can see the dim planet.
Sunday 19 April
On the evening of 19 April, Venus edges closer to Uranus, the separation dropping to 4.9°.
The now 7%-lit waxing crescent Moon sits 8.2° above Venus, the Moon located close to the Pleiades.
Again, wait for the sky to darken sufficiently to see the Pleiades. Aim at the Moon with binoculars and the cluster stars should be obvious, below and right of the lunar crescent.
Thursday/Friday, 23/24 April
Venus’s evening meetings with Uranus reach a crescendo on 23 and 24 April.
On 23 April, the separation between the planets will be just 0.8°, and just a little wider on 24 April, at 1.2°.
On these dates, Venus will be passing south of the Pleiades.
If you grab a low-altitude view through binoculars, with the planet offset into the bottom-left quadrant of the field of view, you should be able to see Uranus and the Pleiades as well.
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