See Venus Inside the 'Seven Sisters' Star Cluster on Friday for the First Time in 8 Years

Venus and Pleiades
VW Pics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
VW Pics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

You're going to be seeing a lot of Venus in April. The planet is the brightest object in our sky after the sun and moon, and it's going to be at its brightest point of the year later this month.

However, this weekend, the big show from Venus is an interaction with the Pleiades star cluster, sometimes called the Seven Sisters. For the first few days of April, the planet will move across the Pleiades, with the highlight coming the night of April 3 when Venus appears to be inside the star cluster from our perspective on Earth.

How to See Venus and the Pleiades

If you're going out, you'll want to look into the western sky just after sunset for your best chance of seeing the pairing. However, the planet's brightness will be a blessing and curse for anyone trying to see the impressive dance. It's beautiful when it's this bright, but its glare will make it difficult to see the Pleiades with the naked eye.

However, if you use a telescope or binoculars, with clear skies, you'll get a great view of the planet sitting in the cluster. It'll be just one-third of a degree south of the stars Atlas and Pleione, per Space.com. It'll be about three-quarters of a degree from the enter of the Pleiades the night of April 3 and just over one degree from there the night of April 4.

It's worth the effort because Space.com says that Venus and Pleiades only come together like this once every eight years. It's now or what until 2028.

Ready to go stargazing?

Here are all the best stargazing events that you can get out and see this month.

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Dustin Nelson is a Senior Staff Writer at Thrillist. Follow him @dlukenelson.