July 10, 2025: The Full Buck Moon rises after sunset, marking the first full moon of summer. Before sunrise, brilliant Venus and Saturn highlight the eastern sky while Mars lingers in the west. See Venus pass the V of Taurus during morning twilight.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 5:25 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 8:27 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
Full Buck Moon
The moon is at its Full phase at 3:37 p.m. Central Time, before it rises in the Americas. This month’s Full moon, the first of the season, is the Buck Moon. It rises in the southeast this evening about 30 minutes after sunset.
The full phase occurs when the moon is opposite the sun. With the high arc of the summer sun across the sky, the moon makes a low arc, opposite the sun’s positions and celestial motion. With daylight lasting a few minutes longer than 15 hours, the moon is above the horizon four minutes shy of nine hours.
An hour before sunrise, this morning the moon is setting in the southwest.
Morning Star Venus
Venus and Saturn are farther eastward. The Morning Star is nearly 20° up in the eastern sky. It steps eastward in front of Taurus, 4.8° to the upper right of topaz Aldebaran, the Bull’s brightest star.
Through a binocular see the planet with the V of Taurus, made by Aldebaran and the Hyades star cluster. Representing the Bull’s head, the shape is on its side before sunrise at this season. Look for the star Gamma Tauri (γ Tau on the chart) at the V’s point. Venus passes 2.9° to the star’s upper left this morning. Watch the planet pass the shape during the next several mornings.
Saturn
Saturn, over 60° to Venus’ upper right, is almost halfway up in the southeast. It is in front of Pisces’ dim stars. Look for the star Deneb Kaitos, Cetus’ tail, about halfway from the horizon to the Ringed Wonder.
Jupiter
Jupiter is slowly entering the morning sky. It rises nearly 50 minutes before the sun. Begin looking for it during bright twilight in less than a week. Venus is quickly overtaking the Jovian Giant with their conjunction occurring on August 12th.
Mercury
Mercury remains an evening planet, setting 69 minutes after the sun, though it is difficult to see in bright twilight. The planet passes between Earth and the sun on the 31st.
Upcoming Morning Alignment
Next month, six of the seven major planets line up in the eastern sky before sunrise, although not all are visible at once. Neptune requires a dark sky before the onset of twilight, while Uranus can be spotted in slightly brighter twilight. The remaining planets are visible in brighter twilight conditions, though Saturn may be difficult to see without a binocular when Mercury is above the horizon.
Mars after Sundown
Mars remains as the lone bright planet in the evening sky, though its nearly two-year apparition is beginning to close. An hour after sunset, the Red Planet, fading as the distance to our world widens, is less than 20° above the western horizon and 13.5° to Regulus’ upper left, Leo’s brightest star.
With the moon above the southeast horizon, use a binocular to trace the shape of Leo. We see the Lion in silhouette from its head, marked by the Sickle of Leo, tipped toward the western horizon to its tail, dotted by Denebola, 14.0° above Mars.
Mars sets about 150 minutes after sunset, about 30 minutes after the end of evening twilight. As Mars begins a very slow slide into evening twilight, ending at its solar conjunction on January 9, 2026, a binocular is needed to see it.
Tonight, take a moonlight walk to enjoy the summer scene on this night of the Full Buck Moon.
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