March 6, 2025: Mercury is visible in the western sky after sunset, leading the evening planet parade that includes Venus, Jupiter, Mars, and the moon.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 6:17 a.m. CST; Sunset, 5:47 p.m. CST. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program.
Today, daylight lasts 11 hours, 30 minutes with the equinox two weeks away. On the 16th and 17th, the difference in the lengths of daylight and darkness is are just one minute.
Mercury’s Evening Appearance
As Mercury approaches its greatest elongation – the largest separation we see the planet from the sun – it is visible low in the western sky during evening twilight. Appearing as a bright star in the colorful hues of dusk’s mid light, Mercury is on its best evening appearance of the year for northern hemisphere sky watchers.
Mercury makes two more evening appearances during the year. On July 4th, the greatest elongation is fairly large, but summer’s long twilight ends nearly 45 minutes after Mercury sets. On this night the planet is bright but appears through bright twilight. A binocular is needed to see it.
The third and final evening greatest elongation occurs on October 29th. The solar system is poorly inclined with the western horizon and the innermost planet sets less than 55 minutes after sundown. Again, the planet appears in bright evening twilight, though near the horizon.
During the next several nights, be sure to see Mercury after sundown. Before sunrise, its best morning appearance occurs on December 7th, the third morning apparition of the year.
Venus, Mercury Tonight
This evening Mercury is to brilliant Venus’ lower left, leading the evening planet parade westward. At 45 minutes after sundown, the Evening Star is over 15° up in the west, 8.2° to Mercury’s upper right, too far apart to fit into the same binocular field of view. Use the binocular to initially locate Mercury, then look for it without the optical assist.
Jupiter, Moon, Taurus
Tonight, the moon, 54% illuminated, is high in the south-southwest. The lunar orb is 9.8° to Jupiter’s upper left and 2.0° to Elnath’s lower right, Taurus’ northern horn. During the night, the moon edges eastward passing 0.6° to the star’s lower left before midnight Central Time. The moon occults the star for sky watchers in Central America and Mexico.
Jupiter, rambling eastward in front of the Bull, is 5.7° above Aldebaran, the constellation’s brightest star. It opens a wider gap with the Bull’s eye as it generally heads toward the bovine’s horn.
Farther eastward, Mars – over 30° to the moon’s lower left – marches eastward in front of Gemini. It is 6.7° to Pollux’s upper right and 7.3° to Castor’s lower right.
Mars, Gemini
For the next several evenings, find a clear horizon looking toward the western sky to see Mercury to Venus’ lower left. The fastest planet in the solar system leads the planet parade westward.
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