February 20, 2025: The moon is visible before sunrise, while Saturn, Venus, Jupiter, and Mars parade westward each night.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 6:39 a.m. CST; Sunset, 5:31 p.m. CST. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program.
Four bright planets – Saturn, Venus, Jupiter, and Mars – are visible after sunset, although Saturn is low in the west-southwest during evening twilight.
Morning Moon
The moon is the lone bright solar system body in the sky before sunrise. An hour before daybreak, the slightly gibbous moon is over 20° above the southern horizon. It is in front of Scorpius, 4.8° to the lower right of Dschubba, known as the Scorpion’s forehead or crown. The moon is at the Last Quarter phase at 11:32 a.m. Central Time after it sets in the Americas’ eastern regions.
Saturn into Evening Twilight
The planets visible during evening hours are in transition, appearing farther westward at the same time interval after sundown. Saturn slides into brighter evening twilight as Mercury emerges. Tonight, Mercury sets only 44 minutes after nightfall. At sundown, the speedy planet is over 7° above the west-southwest horizon and nearly 8° to Saturn’s lower right. The innermost planet is not yet visible, though its visibility window is quickly opening.
As Mercury sets, Saturn is over 5° above the west-southwest horizon. It is visible for a few more evenings until dusk’s early light is brighter than the planet and the Ringed Wonder descends behind Earth’s thicker air which blurs and dims celestial objects.
The brilliant Evening Star is over 25° above the west-southwest horizon. It is the brightest starlike body in the sky tonight and rivals bright airplane lights. Through a telescope, the planet displays an evening crescent phase, 22% illuminated.
Venus is overtaking Earth before passing inferior conjunction between our planet and the sun. Then it reappears in the morning sky.
Tonight, Venus sets 195 minutes after sunset. It loses nearly four minutes of setting time compared to sunset through month’s end.
Jupiter Treks Eastward
Bright Jupiter is high in the south-southeastern sky. It treks eastward in front of Taurus, 5.3° to Aldebaran’s upper left, the Bull’s brightest star. Look for Elnath, the northern horn, 12.2° to the Jovian Giant’s upper left. Watch Jupiter open a gap to Aldebaran and move toward Elnath and Zeta Tauri, the southern horn. The planet passes between the stars during May as they disappear into western evening twilight.
Mars with Gemini
Nearing the end of retrograde, Mars is over halfway up in the east-southeast. It is 7.1° to the upper right of Pollux and 7.2° to Castor’s lower right. The stars are known as the Gemini Twins.
During the night Venus sets, while Jupiter and Mars appear farther westward. Jupiter sets about 2 a.m. local time, while Mars sets about two hours before daybreak.
During the next few evenings, the parade of these four planets ends. Mercury joins the procession next month.
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