May 22, 2025: Before sunrise, a Saturn-Moon conjunction occurs in the eastern sky. Brilliant Venus is nearby.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 5:24 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 8:11 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
Predawn Saturn-Moon Conjunction
Before sunrise, the crescent moon is near Saturn in the east-southeastern sky, while brilliant Venus is nearby.
Step outside one hour before sunup. Brilliant Venus stands nearly 10° above the eastern horizon. Find a clear view toward the planet’s direction. The morning star is nearly 20° to the crescent moon’s, 29% illuminated, lower left.
Look carefully for Saturn, 3.8° to the moon’s lower left. The Ringed Wonder is dimmer than average because we see the rings from nearly edge-on like looking at the side of a dinner plate. The icy and shiny rings reflect light away from Earth, diminishing the planet’s brightness.
Look at the scene through a binocular. Saturn, appearing as a star, and the lunar crescent nicely fit into the same binocular field of view.
Neptune is not Visible
It should be noted that some sources may predict that Neptune is visible. The solar system’s most-distant planet is in the same binocular field with Saturn and the moon, but it is not visible. During late May at an hour before sunrise, the sky is brighter than the planet, masking the planet in dawn’s early light. These predictions are made when a reporter looks at a computer program that shows a dim object in the sky, but the writer does not account for the sky’s brightness.
Jupiter Slides into Evening Twilight
After sundown, bright Jupiter is low in the west-northwestern sky. It slowly slips into brighter evening twilight, heading for its solar conjunction on June 24th. Then it reappears in the eastern morning sky. Venus passes Jupiter in a pretty conjunction on August 12th.
An hour after sunset tonight, Jupiter is over 8° above the horizon. The Jovian Giant rambles eastward in front of Taurus, 2.2° to Zeta Tauri’s upper right, one of the Bull’s horns. Use a binocular to see the star with Jupiter in the same field of view.
Mars and Regulus
Mars, about halfway from the horizon to overhead, heads toward Leo’s Regulus, less than 15° to the planet’s upper left. Mars marches eastward passing Regulus on June 17th.
The Red Planet continues to dim as its separation from Earth grows. Tonight, the gap between the planets is nearly 150 million miles. Since opposition, when Earth was between the sun and the more-distant planet, the Red Planet’s brightness has diminished 90%, though it is brighter than Regulus and most stars in the sky tonight.
Leo leans westward after sunset. The westward facing Lion is seen in silhouette. The Sickle of Leo makes the head, while the eastern-most star, Denebola, dots the tail.
Jupiter sets around two hours after nightfall, while Mars sets about five hours after the sun.
Tomorrow, look for Venus and the moon as the lunar crescent passes nearby.
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