There’s going to be a rare ‘smiley face’ celestial alignment in the morning sky this Friday, 25 April.
Or, at least, that’s what the headlines are telling us anyway.
If you’ve heard about the smiley face alignment set to be visible in the sky this week, you might be wondering what the hype is all about.
Here we’ll break down what you’ll be able to see, separate fact from fiction and reveal exactly what this smiley face is.
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Don’t expect the ‘smiley face’ on 25 April to look like this! But what will you see? Credit: Jacky Enjoy Photography / Getty Images
In short, the ‘smiley face’ is made up of an alignment of Venus, Saturn and the crescent Moon close together in the morning sky.
But the face is on its side. Imagine a smiley face rotated 90° clockwise, and that’s the sort of pattern that will be formed by the the two planets and the Moon.
The thin crescent Moon makes the ‘smile’, while Venus makes the face’s right eye and Saturn makes the face’s left eye.
You can see what this will look like in the simulation below. Tilt your head to the right and you’ll see how Venus, Saturn and the crescent Moon form a smiley face pattern.
It’s not uncommon for planets to appear close to the Moon in the night sky, and a planet close to the Moon is known as a conjunction.
Two or more planets close to the Moon is known as a massing in astronomy.
Tilt your head and you may see a smiley face formed by the crescent Moon, Venus and Saturn on 25 April 2025. Credit: Stellarium
There are lots of stories about the 25 April 2025 celestial smiley face circulating online this week, some of which are realistically detailing what will be visible, and some of which are being rather liberal with the truth!
Venus is a bright morning object this week, rising in the east around 05:00 BST and visible before the Sun rises just before 06:00 BST.
Each morning leading up to Friday 25 April, Venus will rise in the same place at the same time, but the Moon will track eastward each morning, moving closer and closer to Venus as it does so.
The Moon is a thin crescent, having been a full Moon on 13 April and now waning towards new Moon on 27 April.
This means that, by the morning of 25 April, Venus and the crescent Moon will rise together in the morning sky around 05:00 BST, Venus above the Moon.
Bright Venus and the Moon will certainly be visible, provided you have a clear view of the eastern horizon.
The thing likely to spoil this ‘smiley face’ alignment for many observers, however, is Saturn.
Saturn is very faint – much fainter than Venus – and is the last of the three to rise in the morning, sitting below Venus and the Moon in the sky.
And Saturn’s faintness, its low position in the sky and the timing of its rising – close to the oncoming glare of the rising Sun – means it’ll be tricky to spot.
If you do want to see the smiley face, you’ll need a clear eastern horizon, clear weather and good timing.
Caution must be taken, too. Venus, Saturn and the Moon will be rising in the same area of the sky as the Sun, and just before sunrise.
As a result, you should be careful not to observe the rising Sun with the naked eye, and certainly don’t attempt to observe Venus, the Moon or Saturn with binoculars or a telescope, given their proximity to the Sun.
If you do manage to spot the smiley face, we’d love to hear from you. Get in touch with us by emailing [email protected]
