The upper chart shows the path of Venus across the background stars over the course of the year. Stars to magnitude +4.5 are shown with some fainter objects included to complete constellation patterns. The white circles represent the planet on the first day of the month and are scaled according to apparent magnitude. The faint paths before the first circle and after the last circle represent the planet's positions in December of last year and January of next. In general, the planet moves from right to left except when it's in retrograde and proceding in the opposite direction. As an inferior planet, Venus never strays far from the Sun so it always begins and ends the year near the constellation of Sagittarius, located about one quarter of the way in from the left side of the chart.
The lower charts show how the appearance of Venus changes over the year. Below each image is listed the date, the apparent magnitude, the apparent diameter of the disk (in arc-seconds), the geocentric distance (in au), the elongation from the Sun (in degrees) and the percentage of the disk which is illuminated. Like the Moon, Venus exhibits a complete range of phases, from new to crescent to gibbous to full and back again. Unlike the Moon, however, Venus takes over a year to complete this phase cycle. Note how Venus is at its brightest during its crescent phase, when it is relatively close to the Earth.
Venus begins the year as the brilliant morning star, best viewed from southern latitudes until June. This apparition continues until superior conjunction in August when Venus returns as the evening star. It remains most visible from the southern hemisphere until the end of the year when the planet really begins to dazzle northern hemisphere observers. The planet is brightest at the beginning of the year, fading slightly to a mere −3.9 in June before brightening slightly to −4.1 by the end of the year.
- Apparitions of the Inferior Planets from Latitude 50° North
- Apparitions of the Inferior Planets from Latitude 10° North
- Apparitions of the Inferior Planets from Latitude 30° South
| 01 January | elongation 46.9°, illuminated fraction 47.3%, magnitude −4.5, disk diameter 26.5 arc-seconds |
| 1.3° south of the Moon | |
| 06 January | greatest elongation west: 47.0° |
| 09 January | Libra → Scorpius |
| 14 January | Scorpius → Ophiuchus |
| 22 January | planetary conjunction: 2.4° north of Jupiter |
| 31 January | Ophiuchus → Sagittarius |
| lunar occulation: 0.1° south of the Moon | |
| 01 February | elongation 45.2°, illuminated fraction 62.1%, magnitude −4.3, disk diameter 19.4 arc-seconds |
| 18 February | planetary conjunction: 1.1° north of Saturn |
| 01 March | elongation 40.9°, illuminated fraction 72.2%, magnitude −4.1, disk diameter 15.7 arc-seconds |
| Sagittarius → Capricornus | |
| 02 March | 1.2° north of the Moon |
| 14 March | descending node |
| 24 March | Capricornus → Aquarius |
| 01 April | elongation 34.8°, illuminated fraction 81.1%, magnitude −4.0, disk diameter 13.2 arc-seconds |
| 02 April | 2.7° north of the Moon |
| 10 April | planetary conjunction: 0.3° south of Neptune |
| 16 April | Aquarius → Pisces |
| 18 April | aphelion |
| 26 April | Pisces → Cetus |
| 29 April | Cetus → Pisces |
| 01 May | elongation 27.9°, illuminated fraction 88.1%, magnitude −3.9, disk diameter 11.6 arc-seconds |
| 16 May | Pisces → Aries |
| 18 May | planetary conjunction: 1.1° south of Uranus |
| 01 June | elongation 20.1°, illuminated fraction 93.9%, magnitude −3.9, disk diameter 10.6 arc-seconds |
| 03 June | Aries → Taurus |
| 01 July | elongation 12.1°, illuminated fraction 97.8%, magnitude −3.9, disk diameter 10.0 arc-seconds |
| 1.6° north of the Moon | |
| 03 July | Taurus → Gemini |
| 05 July | ascending node |
| 07 July | maximum declination north |
| 25 July | planetary conjunction: 5.6° north of Mercury |
| 26 July | Gemini → Cancer |
| 31 July | lunar occultation: 0.6° south of the Moon |
| 01 August | elongation 3.8°, illuminated fraction 99.8%, magnitude −3.9, disk diameter 9.7 arc-seconds |
| 08 August | perihelion |
| 11 August | Cancer → Leo |
| 14 August | superior conjunction |
| 24 August | planetary conjunction: 0.3° north of Mars |
| 30 August | 2.9° south of the Moon |
| 01 September | elongation 5.1°, illuminated fraction 99.6%, magnitude −3.9, disk diameter 9.8 arc-seconds |
| 09 September | Leo → Virgo |
| 13 September | planetary conjunction: 0.3° north of Mercury |
| 01 October | elongation 12.9°, illuminated fraction 97.6%, magnitude −3.9, disk diameter 10.1 arc-seconds |
| 15 October | Virgo → Libra |
| 25 October | descending node |
| 30 October | planetary conjunction: 2.6° north of Mercury |
| 01 November | elongation 20.7°, illuminated fraction 93.8%, magnitude −3.9, disk diameter 10.8 arc-seconds |
| Libra → Scorpius | |
| 08 November | Scorpius → Ophiuchus |
| 23 November | Ophiuchus → Sagittarius |
| 24 November | planetary conjunction: 1.4° south of Jupiter |
| 28 November | aphelion |
| 1.9° south of the Moon | |
| maximum declination south | |
| 01 December | elongation 27.7°, illuminated fraction 88.8%, magnitude −3.9, disk diameter 11.7 arc-seconds |
| 11 December | planetary conjunction: 1.8° south of Saturn |
| 19 December | Sagittarius → Capricornus |
| 29 December | lunar occulation: 1.0° north of the Moon |
