June 17, 2025: The Mars-Regulus conjunction occurs tonight in the western sky.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 5:15 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 8:28 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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Mars-Regulus Conjunction
The Mars-Regulus conjunction occurs tonight in the western sky.
Marching eastward in front of Leo, Mars passes 0.8° to Regulus’ upper left. The separation is less than two full-moon diameters, far apart enough to see them as separate bodies – one blue-white and the other reddish.
At one hour after sundown, find the pair less than 30° up in the west – about one-third of the way from the horizon to overhead.
At this conjunction, Mars is over 170 million miles from Earth, though Regulus is 2.7 million times farther away.
At a distance of nearly 80 light years, Regulus blazes with in intrinsic brightness of nearly 150 suns.
Regulus is part of a half-dozen stars, that outline the Sickle of Leo, also resembling a backwards question mark. This shape outlines the Lion’s head, with its brightest star at the heart.
Leo is a westward-facing Lion we see in silhouette. At this season it is leaning toward the western horizon. The haunches and tail, Denebola, are marked by a triangle to the east of the Sickle.
Mars-Regulus Conjunction, November 26, 2026
The next conjunction of Mars and Regulus occurs on November 26, 2026, when the Red Planet passes 1.7° from the star, over twice tonight’s separation. Jupiter is nearby and the gathering of three celestial bodies fit into a circle 3.6° in diameter and easily into the same binocular field of view.
Rare Gathering Includes Moon
Four mornings later, the slightly gibbous moon joins the scene and the morning quartet fits into a circle 5.2° across, a rare gathering of Jupiter, Mars, Moon, and Regulus. This is an event to note in your calendar.
Mars-Regulus Triple Conjunction
The next conjunction is part of a triple conjunction that can occur when Mars is near opposition. Mars makes its first pass moving eastward. After the illusion of retrograde begins and the planet seems to move westward, it passes for a second time on February 20, 2027, one day after the planet’s opposition, when Earth is between the planet and the sun. After retrograde ends and Mars resumes its direct, eastward motion, the third conjunction occurs on May 14, 2027.
While Jupiter is in the region during this triple conjunction, Mars only passes it once. Jupiter’s retrograde carries the Jovian Giant farther westward than Mars.
Watch Mars through a Binocular
While Mars and Regulus are easily visible without optical aid tonight, use a binocular to watch the Red Planet’s orbital motion against the background for the next several days. It passes Spica during bright twilight in the west-southwest on September 13th.
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