Beautiful Venus is a morning planet and is visible before sunrise, rising in the east in the mornings throughout May
Venus rises 75 minutes before the Sun on 1 May.
Shining at mag. –4.4, if you can get a telescope on it, you’ll see it’s currently showing a 29%-lit crescent phase with an apparent diameter of 36 arcseconds.
However, given that Venus will be rising in the east just before sunrise, care must be taken if you're attempting this, as catching a glimpse of the Sun without proper solar equipment could damage your eyesight.
At the beginning of May, Venus sits close to the planet Saturn, separated by 3.9° on 1 May.
At mag. +0.8, Saturn will be difficult to spot without the use of binoculars. Neptune is in there too, 3.3° northeast of Saturn, but at mag. +7.9 will be tricky to spot against the bright dawn.
Again, care must be taken when observing objects in the east this close to sunrise.
As the month progresses, the altitude of Venus before sunrise deteriorates, making it harder to get a good view.
On 24 May, a 12%-lit waning crescent Moon sits 4.8° northeast of Venus in the morning twilight.
Despite the lack of true darkness for this encounter, given a good flat eastern horizon the pair should look quite stunning together.
The best views will be had from around 04:00 BST (03:00 UT) onwards.
By the end of the month, Venus actually manages to increase the gap between it rising and the Sun rising to 90 minutes, but its altitude is just over 12° at the time the Sun’s disc is making an appearance.
On 31 May, its brightness will have dropped a fraction to mag. –4.2 and through a telescope its phase will have increased to 49%-illuminated.
Its apparent diameter continues to reduce throughout the month and on 31 May, Venus appears
24 arcseconds across.
Venus, May 2025: what you need to know
- Best time to see: 31 May, 40 minutes before sunrise
- Altitude: 7° (low)
- Location: Pisces
- Direction: East
- Features: Phase, subtle atmospheric shading
- Recommended equipment: 75mm scope or larger
If you observe or photograph Venus throughout May 2025, we'd love to hear from you. Email us via contactus@skyatnightmagazine.com
