January 27, 2025: Four bright planets – Saturn, Venus, Jupiter, and Mars – appear along the plane of the solar system after sundown each night. Venus is the star of this nightly planet parade.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 7:08 a.m. CST; Sunset, 5:00 p.m. CST. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program.
Times of celestial events are described compared to sunrise and sunset. Find those times in local sources.
Beginning tomorrow, the sun sets after 5 p.m. in Chicago. Daylight’s length approaches 10 hours.
Mars, Lone Morning Planet
An hour before sunrise, Mars is the lone planet in the predawn sky, though it is low in the west-northwest. Use a binocular to see it 2.9° below Pollux. The Red Planet disappears into the haze near the horizon that dims and blurs celestial bodies. This is one of the last mornings to see the planet at this time interval before sunrise, setting only five minutes before daybreak. On February 10th, Mars sets at this time interval.
The crescent moon rises only 56 minutes before the sun. The ecliptic – the solar system’s plane – has a shallow angle with the horizon and it is only 3° above the southeast horizon at 30 minutes before sunup.
Rising only 17 minutes before the sun, Mercury is still considered a morning planet. It is moving deeper into bright sunlight, reaching superior conjunction on February 9th.
Venus Stars in Nightly Planet Parade
The bright parade of evening planets continues with Saturn, Venus, Jupiter, and Mars appearing along the ecliptic.
Begin after sundown looking toward the southwest. Brilliant Venus is there. Nearing its brightest illumination during mid-February, the Evening Star can be found during brighter twilight. By an hour after nightfall, it is 30° up in the southwest. Through a telescope, the planet shows an evening crescent phase that is 41% illuminated.
Venus is 7.9° above considerably dimmer Saturn. Venus passed the Ringed Wonder on the 18th, now opening a wider gap.
Saturn is the western planet in this evening planet parade after the conjunction with Venus. It sets over three hours after nightfall, nearly an hour before Venus.
Bright Jupiter, East-Southeast
Jupiter, the third planet in the parade, is high in the east-southeast. It is the brightest star in the region, outshining all the winter stars in the eastern sky, even Sirius.
The Jovian Giant’s retrograde ends on February 4th. Tonight, the planet is 5.1° to Aldebaran’s upper left, the brightest star in Taurus.
Look at Jupiter through a binocular. Up to four of its largest moons are visible. Also look at the Bull’s head, made by the Hyades star cluster and Aldebaran. The sideways “V” shape fills the field. Look at the Pleiades star cluster, resembling a miniature dipper.
Evening Mars with Gemini
Mars is the eastern planet in this parade. Similar in color to Aldebaran but brighter, the Red Planet is nearly 30° up in the east. It retrogrades against Gemini, 3.0° to Pollux’s upper right and 5.9° to Castor’s lower right. Mars has a wide conjunction with the second star in four nights. The retrograde continues through February 23rd.
As Earth rotates, Saturn and Venus set in the west, leading the parade into the western horizon. Jupiter is high in the south about the time Saturn sets. The Jovian Giant sets after midnight and less than four hours after sunup. Mars is south around midnight and in the west-northwest before sunrise. Can you see it tomorrow morning with a binocular.
The planet parade is visible again tomorrow evening and through about mid-February.
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