April 22, 2025: Venus is at greatest brilliancy, its brightest. Find it in the eastern sky before sunrise.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 5:59 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 7:40 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 at Greatest Brilliancy
Venus is brightest this morning or at greatest brilliancy. Rising 95 minutes before the sun, the Morning Star is about 10° above the eastern horizon 50 minutes later.
The planet’s distance is only 37 million miles away, a comparatively short span, though it is over 150 times the moon’s distance.
Through a telescope, the planet shows a morning crescent phase that is 22% illuminated.
Saturn, emerging from bright morning twilight, is 4.7° to Venus’ lower right and in the same binocular field of view. The planet’s brightness is dimmer than average. The Ring Wonder’s ring tilt is shallow so that the sunlight reflected from the icy orbiting debris is not reflected in earth’s direction. From the planet’s diminished brightness, the view might be a little challenging.
The crescent moon, 36% illuminated, is nearly 15° above the southeast horizon and 37° to Venus’ upper right.
In three mornings, Venus, Saturn, and the lunar crescent are visible in the same binocular field.
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