Venus, Saturn planet parade will make a rare smiley face with the crescent moon: Best time to see April 2025 triple conjunction

Rare cosmic events can feel like being smiled down upon from up above. However, on the morning of April 25, an actual smiley face will appear in the sky—kind of.

Venus, Saturn, and the moon will align in a pattern called a triple conjunction. Given the moon will be in its crescent form, the lineup will resemble a smiley face, but only for a short time on Friday morning.

“Venus is higher above the eastern horizon with Saturn lower, and a thin, crescent moon a bit lower and a little farther north,” Brenda Culbertson, NASA solar system ambassador, told Kansas TV station KSNT. “The thin, crescent moon looks like a smile. To some people, the triangle of bright objects may appear as a smiley face.“

But that’s not all: Near the smiley face, two more planets, Mercury and Neptune, could also become visible to sky-watchers, in a rare alignment that’s been dubbed a “planet parade.”

Here’s everything to know about the packed celestial event.

When can I see the triple conjunction smiley face?

Sky-watchers will need to wake extra early on Friday to catch the smirk in action. The event will take place at around 5:30 a.m. EDT, and smile down at the early morning risers for about an hour.

“If you look toward the eastern horizon about an hour before sunrise, you’ll see the old crescent moon rising,” according to EarthSky. “It’s just two days from reaching new moon phase, so it will be about 8% lit. You might also see the dark part of the moon gently glowing with earthshine, which is light reflected from Earth.”

Are the smiley face and planet parade worth all the fuss?

The smiley face won’t be perfectly configured, therefore, you’ll have to use your imagination just a bit, EarthSky says. The smiley face will be tilted on its side, with one eye (Venus) brighter than the other.

But how often do the planets smile down at us? The alignment is extremely rare—and given it will be viewable all over the world, the event may feel a bit like a celestial call for unity.

Mercury and Neptune will be nearby, but the brightness of the triple conjunction will mean they’ll be tough to spot.

What’s the next event for sky-watchers?

If you can’t make it out of bed early—even for a glimpse at a cosmic grin—this spring will bring lots of other special celestial happenings. In early May, the Eta Aquarids meteor shower will reach its peak.

NASA says that will be a smile-worthy sight, too. “Fast meteors can leave glowing ‘trains’ [incandescent bits of debris in the wake of the meteor] which last for several seconds to minutes,” the agency shared. “About 50 meteors can be seen per hour during the peak of the Eta Aquarids.”

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