Venus is becoming a thinner crescent — and that's when it finally starts making sense
Venus is sinking into the sunset as it catches up with Earth — and a small telescope now reveals something the naked eye never can: another planet going through phases.
Venus, the brightest planet and easiest to see, is frustrating for stargazers as it provides little detail. It resembles a star to those who do not stargaze. However, when Venus becomes a crescent, it reveals its true nature as a world orbiting the sun.
The crescent phase occurs as Venus moves closer to Earth and shrinks toward a thinner crescent while its visible disk increases. This happens as Venus reaches its greatest eastern elongation (46 degrees from the sun on Aug. 15) and swings towards inferior conjunction on Oct. 24.
The best time to observe Venus as a crescent is around Sept. 18 when it shines at magnitude -4.8 with just 26% illumination. After this, Venus becomes an increasingly dim crescent. Viewing Venus as a crescent makes the geometry between Earth, the sun, and Venus more obvious, similar to observing a crescent moon.
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