May 13, 2025: During nighttime hours, the Moon occults stars in Scorpius. Venus, Saturn, Jupiter and Mars are visible.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 5:32 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 8:02 p.m. CDT. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program.
Bright Moon, Scorpius before Sunrise
An hour before sunrise, the bright moon, 99% illuminated, is low in the southwestern sky, 10.0° to Antares’ lower right, the Scorpion’s brightest star. Bright moonlight veils other stars in the Scorpion. Use a binocular to see them.
In about nine hours, the moon occults or eclipses the star Pi Scorpii (π Sco on the chart) for sky watchers in eastern Asia.
Venus, Saturn in East
Farther eastward this morning, brilliant Venus is less than 10° up in the east. It continues to step eastward in front of dim Pisces, invisible at these levels of morning twilight and moonlight. Rising 108 minutes before daybreak, the Morning Star’s rising time interval before sunup continues to mirror the beginning of morning twilight’s seasonal change.
Through a telescope, Venus shows a morning crescent, 38% illuminated. The phase continues to grow and reaches a half-full phase on June 1st.
Dimmer Saturn is 9.6° to Venus’ upper right. Initially locate it with a binocular. Can you see it without the optical assistance?
Mercury is not easily visible as it rises 37 minutes before the sun.
Jupiter near Taurus’ Horns
An hour after sundown, bright Jupiter is low in the west-northwest. In two nights, it passes between Taurus’ horns, Elnath and Zeta Tauri. Tonight, use a binocular to see it 2.2° to the right of Zeta, the dimmer southern horn. See this scene during twilight because Jupiter sets over two hours after nightfall.
Mars with Cancer
Mars, nearly 50° to Jupiter’s upper left and over halfway up in the west-southwest, marches eastward in front of Cancer, about midway from Gemini’s Pollux to Leo’s Regulus.
Mars near Beehive Star Cluster
The Red Planet is still in the same binocular field with the Beehive star cluster, 4.3° to the planet’s lower right. With moonrise in about an hour, wait 30 minutes to look for the star cluster.
Mars, setting in the western sky about 5 hours after sundown, is in the sky longer than Jupiter.
Moon, Scorpius after Nightfall
By three hours after nightfall, the moon, 98% illuminated, is over 10° up in the east and 1.0° to Antares’ lower right. From southern South America, the moon occults Al Niyat (σ Sco on the chart), meaning artery, and Antares, representing the Scorpion’s heart in celestial artwork, tonight. During the night, the bright gibbous moon appears farther westward and in the southwestern sky before sunrise.
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