2025, May 23: Morning Venus-Moon Conjunction

May 23, 2025: Do not miss this pretty Venus-Moon conjunction before sunrise in the eastern sky.  Saturn is nearby.

2023, October 10: Venus, crescent Moon, and Regulus gather in the eastern morning sky before sunrise.
Photo Caption – 2023, October 10: Venus, crescent Moon, and Regulus gather in the eastern morning sky before sunrise.

by Jeffrey L. Hunt

Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 5:23 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 8:12 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-Moon Conjunction

Venus, Moon, Saturn, May 23, 2025
Chart Caption – 2025, May 23: The moon is 6.6° to Venus’ upper right.

A pretty Venus-Moon conjunction occurs in the eastern sky before sunrise, a do not miss event.  Step outside and look eastward an hour before sunrise.  Brilliant Venus is nearly 10° up in the east.  The crescent moon, 19% illuminated, is 6.6° to Venus’ upper right. Saturn is in the region, over 17° to Venus’ upper right.

Venus and the lunar crescent snugly fit into the same binocular field of view.

Earthshine

earthshine - Photo Caption - 2022, September 23: Crescent moon with earthshine.
Photo Caption – 2022, September 23: Crescent moon with earthshine.

Notice earthshine on the moon’s night portion.  This effect is from sunlight that reflects from Earth’s oceans, clouds, and land that gently lights the lunar night.

Earthshine can be photographed with a tripod-mounted camera and exposures up to a few seconds.  A steady handheld camera can capture the scene.

Through a telescope, Venus shows a morning crescent phase which is 45% illuminated.  The planet is half full on June 1st, when it appears farthest from the sun, known as greatest elongation.

Saturn, but not Neptune

Saturn, Ring-Plane Crossing
Photo Caption – In one of nature’s most dramatic examples of “now-you see-them, now-you-don’t,” NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope captured Saturn on May 22, 1995 as the planet’s magnificent ring system turned edge-on. This ring-plane crossing occurs approximately every 15 years when the Earth passes through Saturn’s ring plane. (NASA photo)

The binocular helps with initially locating Saturn because it is dimmer than normal. The icy rings reflect sunlight away from our vision as we are seeing the rings from the edge. With some optical help the Ringed Wonder looks like a star.  Through a telescope, the rings are easier to see, though the planet is low in the sky, which blurs and dims it.

Some computer programs may show Neptune near Saturn, but even an hour before sunrise, the sky is too bright to see this very dim planet. Simply, the sky is brighter than Neptune

Saturn and Neptune are best seen in a few months when they are higher in the sky.  They are close enough to fit into the same binocular field, but better viewed later in the summer.

Tomorrow, the crescent moon, Venus, and Saturn are again in the eastern sky.

Do not miss this morning’s Venus-Moon conjunction.

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