March 16, 2025: Daylight equals nighttime four days before the equinox. Mercury makes its last appearance for this apparition. Goodbye, Mercury!
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 7:00 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 6:59 p.m. CDT. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program.
Daylight Equals Darkness
With the equinox four days away, daylight and nighttime are nearly equal. This is from the manner in which sunrise and sunset are calculated and the refraction of sunlight at the horizon.
Morning Moon
An hour before sunrise, the waning gibbous moon, 96% illuminated, is nearly 20° up in the southwest, 4.6° to Spica’s lower right. Later tonight, the moon occults or eclipses the star for sky watchers in Madagascar and southern Africa. This is the 11th occultation of the star in a series of 20 that runs through November.
Morning Venus
Venus is in the eastern morning sky before sunrise and in the western sky after sunset. The planet is north of the plane of the solar system, making a double play. To see the planet find a clear horizon toward the east-northeast, and use a binocular to see it about 3° above the horizon at sunrise.
Goodbye, Mercury!
Venus and Mercury are low in the western sky after sundown. Find a clear western view and use a binocular, especially for Mercury. At 40 minutes after sundown, the Evening Star is 5° up in the west. This planet can be seen during brighter twilight and even closer to the horizon. Along with the sun, moon, and Jupiter, Venus shines through the thicker air across the horizon that dims and blurs celestial bodies.
Venus is overtaking our planet, passing between Earth and the sun on the 22nd. Through a telescope or a binocular if held steadily, the planet shows a thin evening crescent phase that is only 2% illuminated.
Mercury is a challenging view even with Venus as a guide through a binocular. Place Venus toward the upper right edge of the field. Very dim Mercury is to the lower left. Likely, this is the last night to see the speedy planet. It passes between Earth and the sun two days after Venus. So we say “Goodbye, Mercury!”
Its reappearance in the eastern morning sky is disappointing. The planet sets during mid-twilight from a poorly inclined plane of the solar system.
This is the last night to see four planets after sunset until February 2026, when Mercury, Venus, Saturn, and Jupiter are visible. Later this year, during mid-August, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn are visible before sunrise.
When looking for Mercury and Venus, find Jupiter high in the southwest and Mars in the southeast. Wait another 20 minutes to see the planets against the distant starfield.
Jupiter, Taurus
Bright Jupiter rambles eastward in front of Taurus, 6.3° above Aldebaran, the Bull’s brightest star. Watch the gap to Aldebaran open from night to night. It is moving toward the horns, Elnath and Zeta Tauri.
Use a binocular to examine the Hyades star cluster which makes a checkmark shape. Along with Aldebaran, the “V” of Taurus snugly fits into the same binocular field. Additionally, look at the Pleiades, a stellar bundle, resembling a tiny dipper, that rides on the bovine’s back.
Mars Marches Eastward
Mars marches eastward in front of the Gemini Twins, resembling two side-by-side stick figures. The Red Planet is 5.6° to Pollux’s lower right and 7.1° to Castor’s lower right. It passes the stars in wide conjunctions, beginning with Castor on the 21st and Pollux 10 nights later.
The nightly planet parade with four bright worlds has been a pretty display. As it now breaks apart, watch Jupiter and Mars move against their respective starfield. Jupiter disappears into bright evening twilight during May while Mars marches eastward until fades into evening’s mid-light during late summer. Tonight, we say goodbye to Mercury!
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