2025: The Morning Sky

2025:  The morning sky has pretty celestial events during the year, including a Venus appearance, planetary conjunctions, and the moon’s monthly eastward trek.

2020, July 17: The crescent moon appears with Venus and near Aldebaran before sunrise.
Photo Caption – 2020, July 17: The crescent moon appears with Venus and near Aldebaran before sunrise.

by Jeffrey L. Hunt

Events are described here relative to sunrise.  Find sunrise times for the year in local media.

The Morning Sky

morning sky has pretty celestial events
Chart Caption – 2025: The rising time intervals, compared to sunrise, are shown for planets, bright stars near the ecliptic, and the moon. Setting times, compared to sunrise, are shown for Jupiter and Mars.

The morning sky revs up when Venus reappears as the Morning Star during early spring.  It appears with Jupiter, the moon, and bright stars.

The accompanying chart shows the eastern morning sky.  The graph shows the rising times of the planets, bright stars near the ecliptic, and the moon compared to sunrise.  Simply, the graph is the difference between the time the object rises and sunrise. Conjunctions and other events are highlighted.

The setting times, compared to sunrise, of Jupiter and Mars are shown as well.  Early in the year, Mars sets in the west near the time of sunrise.

When two rising time interval lines cross, conjunctions occur near the intersection dates.  The intersections show when the objects rise simultaneously.  Celestial bodies can be far apart, yet rise at the same time.

For example, the moon rising circle is with Venus rising line on July 22.  They rise at the same time, but the moon is over 11° east of Venus.  The previous morning, a note indicates a pretty view of the pair, although the moon rises about an hour before Venus.

Celestial Events Sampler

Here are some events to see:

morning sky has pretty celestial events
Chart Caption – 2025, February 21: The crescent moon is near Antares before sunrise.
  • February 21: The thick crescent moon, 42% illuminated, is about 20° up in the south and 2.1° to Antares’ lower left, the brightest star in Scorpius.  Finally, the Scorpion is fully visible after beginning to climb across the horizon over two months ago.
morning sky has pretty celestial events
Chart Caption – 2025, April 25: Venus, Saturn, and the moon gather in the eastern sky before sunrise.

Venus-Uranus Conjunction

  • April 25: At 45 minutes before sunrise, brilliant Venus, Saturn and the moon gather in the eastern sky.  Venus, about 10° above the horizon, is 4.0° to Saturn’s upper left and 5.3° to the upper right of the waning crescent moon.  They fit into a circle 5.8° in diameter, a pretty view through a binocular.  Find an observing spot with a clear horizon looking eastward.
morning sky has pretty celestial events
Chart Caption – 2025, July 4: A morning Venus-Uranus conjunction through a binocular.
  • July 4: Through a binocular, Venus passes 2.4° from planet Uranus.  The two planets are visible with the Pleiades star cluster if Venus is moved to the lower right edge of the field of view.  Look at least an hour before sunrise, the earlier the better, before morning twilight washes out the dimmer planet.  Venus enters the same binocular field of view with Uranus on June 28th and appears with it until July 10th.
morning sky has pretty celestial events
Chart Caption – 2025, July 13: Venus passes Aldebaran, Taurus’ brightest star before sunrise.

Venus-Jupiter Conjunction

  • July 13: Venus passes 3.2° to Aldebaran’s upper left, Taurus brightest star.  Together, the Hyades star cluster and Aldebaran, make a sideways letter “V,” outlining the Bull’s head.  The planet and the pattern are a pretty view through a binocular.
morning sky has pretty celestial events
Chart Caption – 2025, August 12: A Venus-Jupiter conjunction occurs in the east-northeast before sunrise.

Close Gathering

  • August 12: A Venus-Jupiter conjunction occurs in the east-northeast during morning twilight near the Gemini Twins, Castor and Pollux.  The planets are 0.9° apart.
morning sky has pretty celestial events
Chart Caption – 2025, September 19: Venus, the crescent moon, and Regulus gather closely in the eastern sky before sunrise as seen through a binocular.
  • September 19: Venus, the crescent moon, and Regulus fit tightly together in a circle that is 1.3° apart. This morning Venus passes 0.5° from Regulus, Leo’s brightest star. This is a photogenic morning.  Get your cameras ready.

morning sky has pretty celestial events
Chart Caption – 2025, October 19: Venus and the moon appear together in the eastern sky before daybreak.
  • October 19: At 45 minutes before sunrise, Venus is about 10° above the eastern horizon and 4.0° to the left of the crescent moon, 4% illuminated.
morning sky has pretty celestial events
Chart Caption – 2025, November 17: The crescent moon appears near Spica.
  • November 17:  With brilliant Venus heading into brighter twilight, the crescent moon appears 2.2° below Spica, Virgo’s brightest star.

Mercury, Moon

morning sky has pretty celestial events
Chart Caption – 2025, December 17: Mercury and the crescent moon are in the southeastern sky before sunrise near Scorpius’ head.
  • December 17:  Making its best morning appearance of the year, Mercury is low in the southeastern sky near Scorpius’ head and 11.0° to the left of a thin crescent moon that is only 6% illuminated.

Watch the bright celestial events in the morning as Venus reappears as the Morning Star during the spring months and appearing in the eastern predawn sky throughout the year.

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