June 10, 2025: Venus crosses into Cetus for one morning before crossing in front of Aries.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 5:15 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 8:25 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
Beginning this morning and through the 19th, earliest sunrise occurs.
Morning Star, Venus
One hour before sunrise, brilliant Venus is nearly 15° above the eastern horizon and over 13° to Hamal’s lower right, Aries’ brightest star. Through a telescope, the Morning Star displays a morning gibbous phase, 54% illuminated.
Venus and Cetus
As Venus moves eastward, it crosses in front of distant starfields. Since it appeared in the morning sky, it has been in front of Pisces. The stars are dim and challenging to see during bright twilight and at night in urban and suburban settings.
On its way toward the Aries region, it passes across the boundary to Cetus for one morning.
Constellations Similar to State’s Counties
The sky has 88 constellations. Imagine them as counties in a state, which have irregular shapes. The same occurs in the sky.
Constellations
Typically, we think of constellations as shapes or figures, like Ursa Major (Big Bear), Orion (Hunter), Cassiopeia (Queen), or Taurus (Bull). Lines are drawn between the stars to sometimes make a recognizable shape, though other times the figure is abstract and difficult to see.
The areas around the brighter stars are included in the constellation, like the shape of a state’s counties. While there is no jurisdiction, it makes communication and identification of stars easier.
If a new comet appears and sky watchers hear that the body is in front of a particular constellation, they know where to generally look in the sky and which star chart to study.
Sky watchers are patiently waiting for a recurring nova to brighten. This occurs nearly every 80 years. Popularly known as the Blaze Star or more formally, T Coronae Borealis, abbreviated T CrB. It is the star T in the constellation Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown.
Coronae Borealis is the genitive or possessive form for the constellation, like Orionis is for Orion, Arietis is for Aries, and so on.
Star Catalog
During the 16th century, astronomer Johann Bayer produced a star catalog listing stars in constellations using Greek letters to rank the stars’ brightnesses, though a constellation’s brightest star is not always designated alpha (α). With only 24 letters in this alphabet, not all the stars might be cataloged, but beyond the Greek alphabet, numbers and Latin letters are used.
For example, some of Orion’s stars: Betelgeuse, α Orionis; Rigel, β Orionis; Bellatrix, γ Orionis; and so on. The designation can be shortened further by using Orion’s abbreviation, Ori. The stars’ Bayer names are shortened as α Ori, β Ori, and γ Ori. Abbreviated Sirius is α CaM; Arcturus, α Boo, Vega, α Lyr; and the popularized Blaze Star, T CrB.
Blaze Star’s Location
A binocular is needed to see T Coronae Borealis. If and when it erupts it is expected to brighten as much as Gemma, also known as Alphecca, α CrB, which is about the brightness of the Big Dipper’s stars.
This morning Venus steps in front of Cetus, the Sea Monster, for a single morning then in front of Aries tomorrow morning.
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