2025, March 17: Evening Planet Parade Dissolves

March 17, 2025: The evening planet parade of four bright planets, visible since December, dissolves into two planets.

Venus and Moon, March 1, 2025
Photo Caption – Venus and Moon, March 1, 2025

by Jeffrey L. Hunt

Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 6:59 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 7:01 p.m. CDT.  Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program.

Three days before the equinox, daylight exceeds nighttime. This is from the definition of sunrise and sunset, and refraction of the sun’s light near the horizon.

Morning Moon and Spica

Moon, Spica, March 17, 2025
Chart Caption – 2025, March 17: The bright gibbous moon is near Spica during morning twilight.

An hour before sunrise, the bright waning gibbous moon, 91% illuminated, is low in the southwest, 7.5° to Spica’s left, Virgo’s brightest star, and nearly 15° to Zubenelgenubi’s lower right, the Scorpion’s southern claw.

Venus Double Play

Venus is performing a double play, easily visible after sunset and a challenging view at sunrise where it is over 3° above the east-northeast horizon.  Sky watchers with a clear, natural horizon in that direction should use a binocular to attempt to see it.

Mercury is already dimming and in twilight brighter than the planet.  It passes inferior conjunction two days after Venus’ inside pass.

Evening Planet Parade Dissolves

Venus, March 17, 2025
Chart Caption – 2025, March 17: Brilliant Venus is visible low in the western sky during bright twilight.

Since mid-December, four bright planets – Venus, Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars – paraded westward after sunset. Earlier this month, Mercury replaced Saturn.  Now Venus and Mercury disappear into brighter evening twilight.  The evening planet parade dissolves into views of Jupiter and Mars.

Venus is visible for a short spell after sunset.  It is quickly overtaking Earth, passing between our world and the sun in 5 days.  Tonight, it sets 55 minutes after the sun.  Twenty-five minutes earlier find it less than 5° above the western horizon.  Begin the search with a binocular.  Can you see it without the optical assist?

Jupiter is Easily Visible

Jupiter, March 17, 2025
Chart Caption – 2025, March 17: An hour after sunset, bright Jupiter is high in the southwestern sky in front of Taurus the Bull.

When Venus finally departs the evening sky, Jupiter and Mars remain.  After locating Venus, wait another 30 minutes or so to see Jupiter with the background of Taurus high in the west-southwestern sky.

The Jovian Giant rambles eastward, 6.4° above topaz Aldebaran, the Bull’s brightest star.  It heads for Elnath and Zeta Tauri, the bovine’s horns.  Look each clear night as it opens a gap with Aldebaran.  Use a binocular to see the Pleiades star cluster, a stellar bundle of about 200 stars.  A few dozen are visible through a binocular.  Then look at the “V” of Taurus made by Aldebaran and the Hyades star cluster, tightly fitting into the same field of view.

Mars and Gemini Twins

Mars, March 17, 2025
Chart Caption – 2025, March 17: Mars marches eastward in front of Gemini, near Pollux and Castor, during the early evening hours in the southeastern sky.

At this hour, Mars is farther eastward, high in the south-southeast.   It marches eastward against Gemini’s starry background.  Tonight, the Red Planet is 5.3° to Pollux’s lower right and 7.1° to Castor’s lower right. 

A wide Mars-Castor conjunction occurs in four nights, followed by the planet’s conjunction with Pollux on the 31st.

As Venus disappears into evening twilight, two bright planets are easy to see high in the sky during the early evening.

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