July 1, 2025: Before sunrise, brilliant Venus is near the Pleiades star cluster in the eastern sky. After sunset, the moon, Mercury, and Mars appear in the western sky. Discover how to spot these celestial events with binocular tips and star identifications.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
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Venus Summary Article
VENUS AS A MORNING STAR, 2025
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 5:33 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 7:17 p.m. CDT. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program.
Venus before Sunrise
Before sunrise, brilliant Venus shines from the eastern sky. An hour before daybreak, find it over 15° above the horizon. It is 7.7° to the lower right of the Pleiades star cluster. Venus passes the stellar bundle in four mornings.
Rosy Aldebaran, Taurus’ brightest star, is less than 15° to Venus’ lower left and nearly 6° above the east-northeast horizon. Can you see the star without a binocular. It is at heliacal rising across the mid-northern latitudes, though the view is challenging with the reds of morning twilight. The heliacal rising occurs when the star is first visible without optical assistance.
Aldebaran and the Hyades star cluster make the “V” of Taurus that outlines the bovine’s head. The entire shape fills a binocular field of view. Venus passes through the field from the 9th through the 15th.
Saturn in Southeast
The second bright planet, Saturn, is less than halfway up in the southeast. Considerably dimmer than Venus, the Ringed Wonder is brighter than most of the stars in this morning’s sky. Saturn is dimmer than average because we are seeing the rings from the edge, like looking at a dinner plate from the side, and the icy particles reflect light away from Earth.
Neptune Binocular View
For early risers, Neptune is in the same binocular field with Saturn. Look for Neptune at least two hours before daybreak, quite early in the eastern regions of time zones. Make the attempt to about mid-month, when the gibbous moon’s light spreads across the sky and veils the solar system’s most-distant planet. The view is better each morning as Neptune and Saturn are higher in the sky.
Mercury, Mars, Moon after Sundown
After sunset, Mercury, Mars, and Moon, 43% illuminated, are in the western sky. The moon is nearly 30° above the west-southwest horizon and in front of Virgo. Even at this moon phase, the light gently illuminates the landscape and casts shadows.
The lunar orb is 5.5° to the left of the star Zavijava, also known as Beta Virginis, and 9.3° to the lower right of Porrima, also cataloged as Gamma Virginis. Use a binocular to see the stars in this moonlight.
Moon at First Quarter Tomorrow
The moon is at its First Quarter phase tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. Central Time, after it rises in the Americas. Look for the moon tomorrow afternoon in the eastern sky.
Mars with Leo
Mars, over 24° to the moon’s lower right and 8.2° to Regulus’ upper left, marches eastward in front of Leo, a westward facing Lion we see in silhouette. Its tail is marked by the star Denebola, less than 20° to Mars’ upper left and over 15° to the moon’s upper right.
Elusive Mercury
Mercury is nearing its greatest elongation, its farthest reach from the sun. The planet is never visible at midnight and almost always visible during twilight from the mid-latitudes (north and south of the equator). This evening, find it nearly 5° above the west-northwest horizon. As it fades from view, look for it through a binocular.
Tonight, Mercury sets about 90 minutes after the sun. Mars disappears in the west-northwest about three hours after nightfall, followed by the moon about 45 minutes later.
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