June 25, 2025: Planets Venus, Saturn, Mercury, and Mars are visible nightly.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 5:17 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 8:30 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
See Four Planets Nightly
Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Saturn are visible nightly. The moon is not in the night sky as it reaches the New moon phase at 5:32 a.m. Central Time.
Morning Star in East
An hour before sunrise, brilliant Venus is over 15° above the eastern horizon. The Morning Star continues to put on an exhibition of its brightness, though it has decreased about 30% since its brightest about two months ago.
It steps eastward in front of Aries, over 17° to Hamal’s lower left, the constellation’s brightest star. The planet crosses the Taurus/Aries border in three mornings.
This morning the planet is over 12° to the right of the Pleiades star cluster, a famous stellar bundle also known as the Seven Sisters, which rides on the Bull’s back in celestial artwork. Venus passes the star cluster in a wide conjunction on July 5th.
Saturn in Southeast
Saturn, considerably dimmer than Venus, is over 35° up in the southeast. The planet treks eastward in front of Pisces, nearly 50° to Venus’ upper right. Venus passed Saturn in a wide conjunction two months ago and has opened the expansive gap to the Ringed Wonder that we see this morning.
Saturn’s slow eastward motion takes about two weeks to cover the distance in the sky that Venus travels in a single day.
This morning, look for the star Deneb Kaitos, Cetus’ tail, about halfway from the horizon to Saturn.
Jupiter passed behind the sun yesterday and is technically a morning planet, but it only rises with the central star. It becomes visible later next month.
Catch Mercury after Sunset
After sundown, find Mercury low in the west-northwest. At 45 minutes after sunset, the speedy planet is nearly 10° above the horizon. Use a binocular to initially locate it. Can you see Mercury without the binocular’s optical assist?
Tomorrow evening, the moon joins Mercury.
Mars is with Leo
Fifteen minutes later, reddish Mars is about 25° up in the west, 4.8° to Regulus’ upper left, Leo’s brightest star. It is near the star Rho Leonis (ρ Leo on the chart).
Regulus marks the Lion’s heart and is part of a half-dozen stars that resemble a backwards question mark, known as the Sickle of Leo, marking the creature’s head.
Binocular View
Through a binocular, Mars is 2.0° to the right of Rho Leonis. Like Regulus, this star, though dimmer, is near the ecliptic, the plane of the solar system. The moon and bright stars appear near them regularly.
Mars sets over three hours after sundown, and an hour before Saturn rises in the eastern sky. The four planets are visible again during the next several nights. Watch moon join the scene after sunset.
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