July 31, 2025: As Venus completes its passage in front of Orion’s club, it nears Jupiter for their upcoming conjunction. Mercury enters the morning sky, while Mars continues eastward in front of Virgo toward Zavijava.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 5:44 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 8:10 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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At month’s end daylight lasts 14 hours, 26 minutes, nearly 45 minutes shorter than on the 1st.
Mercury at Inferior Conjunction
Today, Mercury is at inferior conjunction, between Earth and Sun. It speeds into eastern morning twilight, reaching its largest separation from the sun, known as greatest elongation, on August 18th, when it is visible before sunrise. It is part of a morning display that includes Venus, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn, though when Mercury is visible the most-distant planets from the sun are washed out by brighter morning twilight.
Venus, Jupiter in East
This morning brilliant Venus shines from the northeast at mid-twilight, about an hour before sunrise. It is nearly 20° above the horizon. This is the third and final morning that the Morning Star steps eastward against Orion’s club, 14.5° to Betelgeuse’s upper left, the Hunter’s shoulder. Tomorrow, it crosses Gemini’s border.
Slower-moving Jupiter is over 11° to Venus’ lower left and over 10° above the horizon. It is nearly 15° to the upper right of Castor and Pollux, the Gemini Twins, that are near the horizon.
Venus overtakes and passes Jupiter on August 12th in a fairly close conjunction of the two brightest planets and the third and fourth brightest celestial bodies. Watch this gap close each morning.
Saturn in South
At this time, Saturn is about halfway from the southern horizon to overhead. It retrogrades in front of Pisces above Deneb Kaitos and Fomalhaut.
Evening Mars and Moon
An hour after sundown, the moon, 46% illuminated, is nearly 20° above the southwest horizon. Tonight, it is 10.2° to the left of Spica, Virgo’s brightest star. Farther westward, dim Mars is over 10° above the west-southwest horizon, nearly 40° to the lunar orb’s lower right.
Mars marches eastward in front of Virgo, 1.2° to the lower right of Zavijava, also known as Beta Virginis. The Red Planet passes only 0.1° to the star’s lower left on August 2nd.
With Mars’ low altitude, height above the horizon, use a binocular to spot Mars near the star. As it slowly slides into evening twilight, a binocular is needed at least for its initial identification and perhaps until it reappears in the morning sky late next spring.
Saturn rises only 15 minutes after Mars sets. By tomorrow morning, the Ringed Wonder is again in the southern sky before sunrise.
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