How To Watch Venus Vanish Behind The Moon In Broad Daylight

by Aaron Leong — Wednesday, June 17, 2026, 10:26 AM EDT

Do yourself a favor and look up this afternoon to witness the moon passing directly in front of Venus. Known as a lunar occultation, this rare daytime event offers skywatchers across the contiguous United States, Canada, and parts of Central and South America a chance to see the planet vanish in broad daylight.

occultation 20260617 2032 visibility — *Credit: In-The-Sky.org*

The crossover is expected to begin in the mid-afternoon, roughly between 3:30 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. EDT, depending on your precise location. For viewers in Washington, D.C. and along the East Coast, for example, Venus will slip behind the non-illuminated edge of the moon around 2:22 p.m. local time and emerge from the illuminated side about an hour and a half later. Because this occurs while the sun is still high, the deep blue afternoon sky will wash out much of the natural contrast, making the event technically challenging to see with the naked eye.

To start, begin looking roughly 38 degrees away from the sun. Look for the razor-thin, three-day-old waxing crescent moon, which is only about 11% to 14% illuminated. Venus itself will be quite brilliant at -4.0 magnitude. While those with exceptional vision and exact coordination might catch a glimpse of Venus as a tiny white speck against the blue backdrop, using binoculars or a telescope will drastically improve the odds. Using optics ought to reveal the jagged, dark, unlit edge of the lunar crescent slowly swallowing the solid white disk of Venus.

Do remember that since the moon and Venus are positioned relatively close to the sun, looking directly at the sun, even for a split second through binoculars or a telescope, can cause permanent damage. A safe technique is to set up your equipment in the physical shadow of a building or roofline so the sun is entirely blocked from view while the target area of the sky remains visible.

behhive1 — *The Moon will pass directly in front of the Beehive Cluster the same evening. (Credit: Stellarium)*

If daytime tracking proves too difficult, there's a more relaxed display available once twilight fades. At about 45 to 60 minutes after the sun sets, the crescent moon will guide stargazers to the Beehive Cluster (M44) in the constellation Cancer. Located just a few degrees from the moon, this faint patch of light transforms under binoculars into a shimmering swarm of dozens of blue-white stars.

Main image credit: NASA / Gineys