April 15, 2025: Venus chases morning twilight for nearly two months. It rises at about the beginning of morning twilight until early June.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 6:10 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 7:32 p.m. CDT. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program.
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Venus Summary Article
VENUS AS A MORNING STAR, 2025
Venus Chases Morning Twilight
Beginning tomorrow and for 54 days through June 8th, Venus rises within 10 minutes of the beginning of morning twilight at the mid-northern latitudes. During this time, Venus gains 39 minutes of rising time compared to the sun.
Tomorrow morning, the planet rises 90 minutes before the sun. An hour later it is over 10° above the eastern horizon.
By May 15th, the Morning Star is nearly 15° above the horizon at 30 minutes before daybreak, rising 109 minutes before the sun.
Rising 129 minutes before daybreak on June 8th, the planet is nearly 20° above the horizon at the same time interval.
As the season progresses, Venus is in the sky earlier compared to sunrise, though during mid-May, it is over 10° up in the east at 45 minutes before daybreak,
In the northern hemisphere, twilight is longer as summer approaches. In comparison, twilight lasts 101 minutes at the winter solstice, while it lengthens to 122 minutes at summer’s start.
Twilight Lengthens through Summer Solstice
At the summer season north of latitude 48.6°, the sun is still close enough to the horizon to gently illuminate the sky, even at midnight. Farther north, all night twilight occurs for more nights. At approximately the Arctic Circle, the sun does not set. Similar effects occur for southern hemisphere sky watchers during December, that hemisphere’s summer season.
For this apparition of Venus and when the cycle recurs in eight years, its rising time interval compared to sunrise mirrors when morning twilight begins.
After Venus begins rising earlier than morning’s first light in June, it continues to rise before the start of twilight through late October. For several days in late July, it rises nearly three hours before sunrise.
Look for Venus each clear morning in the eastern sky as it rises at about the time of morning twilight for many mornings.
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