On Friday, Sept. 18, Venus hits its brightest of 2026. Look low in the west after sunset. Here is when, where, and what else is up this week.
Venus reaches magnitude -4.8 on Sept. 18, its peak for this evening run. Only the Sun and Moon outshine it, so it is the first "star" you spot at dusk.
Sunset is near 7 p.m. in New York and L.A. Venus sets about 8 p.m. ET in New York and 8:15 p.m. PT in L.A., so find a clear western view and look early.
Steady binoculars or a small telescope show Venus as a crescent. On Sept. 18 only about 26% of its disk is sunlit, yet it looks larger than at any point so far this year.
Venus is about 40 million miles away and closing, and its clouds reflect most of the sunlight that hits them. Sharp eyes can even find it in daylight.
Venus sinks lower each week and passes between Earth and the Sun on Oct. 23-24. Unlike this 2012 transit, it misses the Sun's face, then returns as a morning star.
The crescent Moon sits near Antares, the red heart of Scorpius, on the evenings of Sept. 16 and 17. Look low in the southwest after dark.
On Sept. 18 and 19 the Moon glides past the Teapot of Sagittarius. From a dark site, the Milky Way's glow rises from its spout toward the galaxy's center.
The Moon hits first quarter at 4:44 p.m. ET (1:44 p.m. PT) on Sept. 18. Saturday, Sept. 19, is NASA's International Observe the Moon Night.
The equinox arrives at 8:05 p.m. ET, 5:05 p.m. PT, on Tuesday, Sept. 22, when the Sun crosses the equator heading south. Fall officially begins.
The Harvest Moon rises in the east on Saturday, Sept. 26, with Saturn nearby. Until then, Venus is the brightest thing in the western sky.