The crescent moon and Venus put on a spectacular show for skywatchers around the world during a dramatic close-up in the night sky earlier this week. Read on to see a selection of gorgeous photographs of the cosmic encounter, captured around the world.
Photographers captured the thin lunar crescent just days after the new moon phase on May 16, when sunlight reflected from Earth’s surface and atmosphere bathed the shadowed expanse of the lunar disk in a soft glow, known as Earthshine.
Stunning photographs of the lunar conjunction of Venus and the Moon in May
Meng Zhongde spies on Venus and the moon shining in the twilight sky over China’s Hainan province on May 19, with earthshine illuminating the lunar disk as reflected sunlight spilled into the night from its bright crescent.
Photographer Gary Hershorn captured a stunning photograph of Venus shining to the left of the crescent moon over One World Trade Center on May 18, as the sunset glow illuminated the New York City skyline.
Hershorn also snapped a well-timed photo of a passenger jet flying through the skies over Manhattan alongside the celestial duo that same night, before the crescent moon illuminated at 7% illumination disappeared from view below the western horizon.
Giuseppe Pappa took a mathematical approach to the celestial event, photographing the moon, Venus and the gas giant Jupiter in the skies over Catania, Italy, on May 19 before calculating the angles between them.
“The three celestial bodies aligned perfectly in the night sky, forming an isosceles geometric triangle,” Pappa said. space.com in an email. “Jupiter (top left) and Venus (bottom right) meet at the base of the triangle with an identical 10° angle. The Moon rests at the vertex (V), in the center of the scene, creating a wide 160° angle.”
This view of the Moon and Venus, often called “Earth’s twin” due to their similar size and rock composition, was taken by Pradeep Dambarage as they hung above the treetop silhouettes of a forest in Linköping, Sweden. The photo reveals subtle imperfections in the arc of the crescent moon, created when sunlight hits the craters and rugged terrain that borders the shadowy divide that separates night from day on the lunar surface.
Photographer Bill Ingalls saw that same scene unfold above the Mary W. Jackson Building at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C., as the agency’s iconic blue, red and white “Meatball” logo dominates the shot.
Tahir Turan Eroglu captured another beautiful view of the young moon and Venus, as the earth’s glow reveals the dark silhouettes of the lunar seas that mark the lunar surface, where lava flows had solidified billions of years ago to form wide basaltic plains.
Do you want to know more about Venus? Then be sure to read our explainer article which details everything you need to know about the rocky planetalong with these 10 fascinating facts about the moon.
If you’re looking for a closer look at the planets, you would do well to read our summaries of the Best telescopes available in 2026. If photography is your thing, why not also browse our selections of best cameras and astrophotography lenses?
Editor’s note: If you would like to share your astrophotography with Space.com readers, please send your photos, comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.
