July 11, 2025: Mars dims in the western sky after sunset while Venus, the Morning Star, shines near the V of Taurus before sunrise. Saturn climbs in the southeast as the bright Buck Moon illuminates the sky.
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
Mars Fades in West
Mars is the lone bright planet visible tonight. An hour after sunset, it is over 15° above the western horizon, marching eastward in front of Leo. This evening, Mars is 14.1° to the upper left of Regulus and 13.7° below Denebola, the Lion’s tail.
The Red Planet is considerably dimmer than when it was closest to Earth on January 17th. Tonight, it shines at only 7% of that earlier brightness. Its dimming is due to its increasing distance from Earth—now twice our average distance from the sun.
On August 6th, Mars sets at the end of evening twilight. After that, it remains visible only in progressively brighter twilight until it reaches solar conjunction early next year.
Mercury Moves toward Inferior Conjunction
Mercury is still east of the sun, setting 66 minutes after nightfall. It passes between Earth and the sun at month’s end and jumps into the eastern morning sky, joining a line up of six bright planets.
Bright Evening Moon
Tonight, the bright moon rises over two hours after sunset. This light still brightly illuminates the ground for nighttime walks without flashlights.
Venus Passes V of Taurus
Before sunrise this morning, the action continues in the eastern sky as Venus passes the V of Taurus, made by Aldebaran and the Hyades star cluster. The shape is tipped on its side in the eastern at this season
The bright Buck Moon, low in the southwest, spreads its light across the sky, casting a veil across dimmer stars.
An hour before sunrise, the Morning Star is nearly 20° above the eastern horizon, 4.0° above Aldebaran. In this moonlight look for the Pleiades star cluster, 9.6° above the planet.
Binocular View
Through a binocular spot Venus 1.6° to the upper left of Delta1 Tauri (δ1 Tau) and 1.7° from Delta 2 Tauri (δ2 Tau) in the Hyades.
Each morning, note Venus’ place in the sky compared to the V of Taurus.
Saturn, considerably dimmer than Venus, is halfway up in the south-southeast. Among Pisces’ dim stars, the Ringed Wonder begins the illusion of retrograde in two mornings. It is above the star Deneb Kaitos, Cetus’ tail, which is about halfway from the horizon to the planet.
Tonight look for Mars in the western sky as it begins its long slide into brighter evening twilight and ending with its solar conjunction.
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