2025, July 15: Jupiter Returns, Morning Moon, Mars Fades

July 15, 2025: Jupiter returns to the eastern sky during bright morning twilight.  Find the morning moon approaching Saturn.  After sundown, Mars begins to fade into evening twilight.

2023, February 17: Venus is to the lower right of Jupiter,
Photo Caption – 2023, February 17: Venus is to the lower right of Jupiter,

by Jeffrey L. Hunt

Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 5:29 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 8:24 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 AS A MORNING STAR, 2025

Jupiter Returns

Venus, Jupiter, July 15, 2025
Chart Caption – 2025, July 15: Venus and Jupiter are in the eastern sky at 30 minutes before sunrise.

Jupiter appears in bright morning twilight about 30 minutes before daybreak.  While the predawn light is bright, the planet shines through it.  Find it over 5° above the east-northeast horizon. 

At this hour, Venus is over 25° to Jupiter’s upper right.  The brilliant Morning Star is easier to locate, though the sky in its region is still bright.  It overtakes Jupiter, noticeably closing the gap each morning. Venus passes Jupiter in a close, easily-observed conjunction in less than a month.

Venus and Aldebaran

Venus and Taurus, July 15, 2025
Chart Caption – 2025, July 15: An hour before daybreak, Venus is to Aldebaran’s upper left.

Thirty minutes before locating Jupiter, Venus is 3.7° to the upper left of Aldebaran, Taurus’ brightest star. This distance is about the width of three fingertips at arm’s length.

Venus passes the "V" of Taurus, July 9-15
Chart Caption – 2025, July 9-15: A binocular view – Venus passes the V of Taurus.

This morning’s moonlight spreads across the sky and washes out the dimmer stars.  Use a binocular to see the V of Taurus, made by Aldebaran and the Hyades star cluster, and Venus in the same field of view.

Moon Approaches Saturn

Saturn and Moon, July 15, 2025
Chart Caption – 2025, July 15: The gibbous moon and Saturn are in the southern sky during morning twilight.

The gibbous moon, 78% illuminated, nears Saturn in the southern sky.  The moon is less than halfway up in the south, 13° to Saturn’s lower right.

The Ringed Wonder slowly retrogrades, appears to move westward against the distant starfield, in front of Pisces.

The major planets are congregating in the morning sky.  While the moon is currently too bright to see the dimmer worlds, Uranus and Neptune are in the region.  Uranus is in the same binocular field with the Pleiades star cluster in Taurus and Neptune is near Saturn.  They are easier to see as the moon continues to wane.

Mercury is still east of the sun, setting 52 minutes after nightfall.  Next month, six of the seven major planets are in the sky before sunrise, although not simultaneously.

Mars after Sundown

Mars, July 15, 2025
Chart Caption – 2025, July 15: After sunset, Mars is in the western sky with Leo.

Mars fades into evening twilight. An hour after sundown, the Red Planet is about 15° above the western horizon, about the same altitude – height above the horizon – as the sun an hour before sunset.  It is considerably dimmer than when it was close to Earth during January.  Use a binocular to initially locate it.

Mars is to Regulus’ upper left, Leo’s brightest star, and below Denebola, the Lion’s tail.

During the first week of August, it sets at the end of evening twilight, less than two hours after sunset. Tonight, it sets about 35 minutes later.

Tomorrow morning, Jupiter is higher in the sky and closer to Venus.  The moon is near Saturn, while Mars continues its slide into brighter evening twilight.

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