July 4, 2025: Witness a beautiful Venus-Uranus conjunction before sunrise. Learn how to spot Venus, Uranus, the Pleiades, and Aldebaran in the eastern sky, with tips for binocular viewing.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 5:21 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 7:29 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
Venus-Uranus Conjunction
A Venus-Uranus conjunction occurs this morning before sunrise. The Morning Star passes 2.6° to the lower right of the more-distant planet.
Here’s what to see:
Step outside with a binocular at least an hour before sunrise. (An earlier outing provides a darker sky to make Uranus’ identification easier.)
Venus, nearly 20° above the horizon, is “that bright star” in the east. It steps eastward in front of Taurus, 6.6° to the lower right of the Pleiades. The Morning Star passes the cluster tomorrow morning in a wide conjunction. It is 10.8° to the upper right of topaz Aldebaran, though the star might be challenging to see without a binocular in the reds and oranges of morning twilight.
Binocular View
Use the binocular to look for Uranus between Venus and the Pleiades. Hold the binocular so that Venus appears to the lower right of the field of view and the star cluster to the upper left. This is a tight fit. Uranus is toward the center of the field to Venus’ upper left. Look for the stars 13 Tauri (13 Tau on the chart) and 14 Tauri (14 Tau). They are about the same brightness as Uranus, appearing as an aquamarine star. A small telescope can show a small globe.
Saturn in Southeast
At this time, Saturn is in the southeastern sky, less than halfway from the horizon to overhead. It is considerably dimmer than Saturn, but brighter than most stars in the sky this morning.
The star Deneb Kaitos, Cetus’ tail, is about halfway from the horizon and Saturn.
During July 9-15, Venus appears in the same binocular field with the “V” of Taurus, a shape made by Aldebaran and the Hyades star cluster, that outline the Bull’s head.
With a binocular, watch Venus move against Taurus’ rich, distant star fields.
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