August 4, 2025: Watch the stunning Venus-Jupiter conjunction develop and prepare for a rare six-planet display in the morning sky. Learn how to spot Uranus and Neptune with a binocular.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 5:48 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 8:05 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 Approaches Jupiter
The formation of the Venus-Jupiter conjunction unfolds in the eastern sky before sunrise. Venus passes 0.9° from Jupiter on the morning of the 12th. Additionally, Mercury speeds into the morning sky setting up a six-planet display before sunrise after mid-month.
Here is the status of the morning planets:
One hour before sunrise, brilliant Venus is about 20° up in the east-northeastern sky and 7.6° to the upper right of bright Jupiter.
Venus and Jupiter are moving eastward in front of Gemini. Venus moves nearly 1°, the diameter of two full moons, from morning to morning, while Jupiter only moves one-fifth that distance. Use a binocular to see Venus nearly between Castor’s toe, Propus, and the heel, Tejat Posterior. Jupiter is over 12° to the upper right of the Twins, Castor and Pollux.
Prepare for Six-Planet Parade: Uranus through Binocular
When the six-planet display occurs, a binocular is needed to see Uranus and Neptune. Their identification is not as easy as Venus or Jupiter. Let’s start with the easier one to see. When Venus and Jupiter are visible, find the Pleiades star cluster over halfway up in the east-southeast. Through the binocular, place the star cluster near the top of the field of view. Uranus is to the lower right. It is dimmer than 37 Tauri (37 Tau on the chart) and nearly the same brightness as 13 Tauri (13 Tau). Through the binocular, the planet is visible in suburban settings.
Saturn in South-Southwest
During morning twilight, Saturn is halfway from the south-southwest horizon to overhead. It retrogrades in front of Pisces’ dim stars. It is above Deneb Kaitos, Cetus’ tail, and Fomalhaut, the mouth of the Southern Fish, about 15° above the horizon.
See Neptune in a Dark Sky
At mid-twilight, the sky is brighter than Neptune. The view requires the darkest sky possible. Begin the hunt at least two hours before daybreak. Finding Neptune from a suburban setting is questionable from the stray glow from outdoor lighting. Begin by placing Saturn at the center of the binocular field of view. Even with the binocular’s magnification, Saturn’s rings are not visible.
Neptune is in the same binocular field with Saturn. Look for the stars 27 Piscium (27 Psc on the chart) and 29 Piscium (29 Psc). Notice their respective colors, yellow-white and blue-white. They are still 10 times brighter than Neptune. Neptune is a dim bluish star above Saturn. Another reddish star with an obscure catalog name, still twice as bright as Neptune, is to the upper right.
Six Planets Parade
Attempt this identification for the next four mornings. Then the bright moon interferes with the view. On August 12, the morning of the Venus-Jupiter conjunction, the bright gibbous moon is near Saturn and Neptune, but overwhelms the view. The sky does not darken again until the moon reaches a crescent phase on the 17th, the first morning to see the six-planet parade, though in stages.
Begin two hours before sunrise by finding Saturn, Neptune, and Uranus. At that hour Venus and Jupiter are visible near the east-northeast horizon. The sky slowly brightens through morning twilight and the dimmer stars and planets blend with morning’s light.
At 45 minutes before sunrise, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn span 125° from east-northeast to the southwest. Morning twilight overwhelms Uranus and Neptune.
Repeat the observation of the six-planet alignment during the next several mornings.
This morning, Mercury rises only 15 minutes before daybreak. It gains about seven minutes of rising time each morning compared to sunrise during the next week
Evening Moon
In the evening sky, the bright gibbous moon, 82% illuminated, is in the south. It is in front of Ophiuchus above Scorpius, 12.2° to Antares’ lower left, the Scorpion’s brightest star. Trace the shape of the arachnid through a binocular. The stars Shaula and Lesath, marking the end of the tail and stinger, are over 8° below the lunar orb.
Mars Fades
Mars slips into evening twilight as it marches eastward in front of Virgo, over 25° to Spica’s lower right. Tonight, an hour after sunset, find the Red Planet less than 10° above the western horizon, and 1.3° to Zavijava’s upper left, also known as Beta Virginis. Until Mars clears morning twilight late next spring, after its solar conjunction early next year, use a binocular to see it.
The Red Planet sets less than two hours after sunset and only 10 minutes before Saturn rises. Tonight, the moon sets over 5 hours after sundown and after midnight.
Watch the dynamic action of the Venus and Saturn before sunrise. Practice finding Uranus and Neptune so you can observe the six-planet alignment in a few weeks.
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