A crescent moon will be visible early on the morning of April 25.
Along with two bright planets nearby — Venus and Saturn.
To spot this rare event, you need to look toward the eastern horizon about an hour before sunrise.
My astrophile friends, you must have seen posts on social media claiming a “smiley face moon” will light up the sky on April 25, 2025. Is it really true? Is it really going to smile at us? Well, I would say not exactly… but kinda!
SurveyA crescent moon will be visible early on the morning of April 25, along with two bright planets nearby — Venus and Saturn. But the actual formation won’t be the picture-perfect smiley face that you’ve seen in those viral images. Now, as you know, this is actually taking place, let me tell you more about this crazy formation of Venus, Saturn, and the moon.
When and where to spot the ‘smiley face moon’?
Now, to spot this rare event, you need to look toward the eastern horizon about an hour before sunrise on April 25, so yes, you will have to get up a little early. Currently, the sunrise time in Delhi is 5:46 AM. What you will see is a thin crescent moon, just two days shy of the new moon phase, glowing faintly at around 8% illumination. If skies are clear, you might also notice a gentle glow across the rest of the moon’s surface, which we also know as Earthshine (sunlight reflected off Earth lighting up the moon’s dark side).
Coming to the planets now, so just above it, Venus, the brightest object in the pre-dawn sky, will be shining. While Saturn, the second “eye” in this celestial smile, could be a little harder to spot. The moon, Venus, and Saturn will form a tilted smile-like triangle, and not a perfect emoji-style grin, but a charming cosmic arrangement nonetheless.
The last time we witnessed Venus, Saturn, and the moon together was in January 2025, when this trio aligned in the evening sky. It was visible to the naked eye and was best seen shortly after sunset, with Neptune and Uranus also making an appearance, but only through telescopes. The highlight was the stunning conjunction of Venus and Saturn, where Venus shone 110 times brighter.
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Mustafa Khan
Mustafa is a young tech journalist who tells it like it is, cutting through buzzwords to deliver straightforward smartphone reviews. He’s the office go-to for insider tips and quick demos, and his video content doesn’t waste anyone’s time. When he’s off the clock, he geeks out over cars, photography, and hunting down the best spot for Indian food. View Full Profile
