The Sky Today on Monday, September 7: Venus and Spica, side by side

Bright evening star Venus now stands in line with Virgo’s alpha star, Spica, as the pair sets in the early-evening sky.
By | Published: September 7, 2026

A sky chart showing the western sky on September 7, 2026, one hour after sunset. Venus shines brilliantly low near the center of the image, with the star Spica labeled as a smaller blue-white point just to its right. The sky fades from deep blue-black above to a warm brown-orange twilight glow near the dark horizon silhouette.
Venus and Spica sink quickly in the west after sunset, but if you have a clear horizon, you can watch them set side by side. Credit: Stellarium

Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column. 

September 6: The Moon and Mars in Gemini

Venus has pulled away from the bright star Spica in Virgo, which it met in the sky last week, and tonight stands side by side with the star as they set together following sunset. An hour after the Sun disappears, the pair is just 3° high in the west, with some 4.7° separating them. You’ll need a horizon clear of trees and buildings to see them well — an observing site slightly above your surroundings, such as a hill or parking garage, will further aid your endeavors. They set around 8:45 P.M. local daylight time.

Although Venus is quickly losing altitude, it is approaching greatest brilliancy, which it will reach next week. Through a telescope, Venus appears as a 34%-lit crescent that spans 33” — a slightly larger apparent size than Jupiter, despite the two planets’ physical size difference. Venus is only 0.5 astronomical unit from Earth, where 1 astronomical unit, or AU, is the average Earth-Sun distance of 93 million miles (150 million km). Jupiter, by contrast, is now 6.2 AU from Earth, so its much greater distance diminishes its apparent size in our sky. 

Sunrise: 6:33 A.M.
Sunset: 7:22 P.M.
Moonrise: 2:13 A.M.
Moonset: 5:34 P.M.
Moon Phase: Waning crescent (11%)
*Times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset are given in local time from 40° N 90° W. The Moon’s illumination is given at 10 P.M. local time from the same location. 

By the morning of September 8, the Moon has skimmed through the morning sky over to Cancer, where it checks in on Jupiter — and you can check in on them both before dawn. 

A sky chart showing the eastern sky on September 8, 2026, one hour before sunrise. The crescent Moon and Jupiter are shown in close proximity in the lower center, with Jupiter just below the Moon. Mars glows orange in the upper center, with Castor and Pollux labeled to its left. Procyon is visible to the right, and Betelgeuse glows orange in the upper right corner. The sky fades from deep blue-black above to a subtle twilight glow near the dark horizon silhouette.
The Moon, now in Cancer, sits close to bright Jupiter in the early-morning sky of September 8. Credit: Stellarium/USGS/Celestia/Clementine

The Moon rises around 3:30 A.M. local daylight time, with Jupiter following half an hour later. An hour before sunrise, the Moon is 20° high in the east, to the upper right of bright Jupiter in eastern Cancer. About 3.8° to the Moon’s right (west) is the Beehive Cluster, a lovely open cluster in central Cancer. Before the sky grows light, you might be able to make out its brighter stars with the naked eye, as the slim crescent Moon shouldn’t throw out too much light. Binoculars or any small scope will certainly show its many members. 

Jupiter shows off a wealth of detail in a telescope, including a light-and-dark banded atmosphere and four large, bright moons. Io is alone to the planet’s east, while Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto stretch out to the west.

Alison Klesman is senior editor of Astronomy magazine. She holds a Ph.D. in astronomy and has studied a variety of topics, from minor planets to supermassive black holes.

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