This Saturday, Venus will pass nearly between the Earth and the Sun in an astronomical event known as an inferior conjunction. The moment itself may go unseen by most stargazers, yet it marks a significant phase in the inner planet’s orbit and offers a unique opportunity to follow its shift across our skies.
What Is An Inferior Conjunction?
An inferior conjunction occurs when a planet whose orbit lies closer to the Sun than Earth’s — known as an inferior planet — aligns roughly between Earth and the Sun. In this case, it’s Venus, one of the brightest and most visible planets in our sky. At approximately 9 p.m. EDT on Saturday, Venus will reach this alignment point, though it won’t be directly observable due to the Sun’s overwhelming glare.
According to Michelle Nichols from Chicago’s Adler Planetarium, “The glare from the sun makes it really, really difficult to see.” Unlike planetary transits, where a planet crosses directly in front of the Sun from Earth’s perspective, this inferior conjunction results in a near pass — close, but not perfectly aligned.
Why It’s Called A “Venus Kiss”?
The term “Venus kiss” is more poetic than scientific, used informally to describe Venus’s close brush between Earth and the Sun. Geary Albright, an astronomer at James Madison University, notes that this nickname captures the almost romantic imagery of the event, where Venus appears to “kiss” the Sun from our vantage point.
The term might suggest a dramatic visual spectacle, but in reality the event is subtle and hidden from view. The magic lies in the orbital mechanics and the anticipation of Venus reappearing, changing its role from evening star to morning star in the coming days.
How To Track Venus Before And After?
Although the conjunction itself isn’t visible, Venus’s journey can be followed in the sky. In the nights leading up to Saturday, Venus has appeared low on the western horizon shortly after sunset. Observers in areas with a clear, flat view could spot it glowing brightly, just before it disappeared below the horizon.
After the conjunction, Venus will reemerge in the morning sky, visible just before sunrise. On Sunday morning, roughly 30 minutes before the Sun rises, look to the eastern horizon to catch Venus shining brightly once more — a signal that it has completed its celestial transition.
Throughout these phases, Venus displays lunar-like crescents when viewed through a telescope, shrinking to a thin sliver before conjunction and gradually growing again afterward. This is due to the angle of sunlight hitting the planet as it orbits around the Sun.
Venus Revealed: What Her Orbit Tells Us
For astronomers, inferior conjunctions offer more than just pretty words. They represent critical points in planetary orbits and serve as benchmarks for observing how planets move through the solar system.
These events are also part of the broader narrative of Venus’s mysteries — from its scorching atmosphere to its slow, retrograde rotation.
Two upcoming NASA missions, VERITAS and DAVINCI+, are poised to explore Venus in detail, seeking to understand how the planet diverged so drastically from Earth. Interest in Venus has reignited in recent years, with many seeing it as a cautionary tale of planetary evolution.
Adding a pop culture twist, Paul McCartney’s song “The Kiss of Venus” was inspired by this very phenomenon — blending science and music in a tribute to the planet’s poetic appeal.
