August 11, 2025: Venus and Jupiter shine together in the eastern sky before sunrise as Sirius reaches its heliacal rising. The annual Perseid meteor shower is near its peak intensity.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 5:55 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 7:56 p.m. CDT. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times.
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During the next few days, daytime’s length passes through 14 hours. Through the autumnal equinox on September 22nd, sunshine decreases two hours, nearly three minutes every day.
Venus, Jupiter near Conjunction
An hour before sunrise, Brilliant Venus stands next to bright Jupiter in the east-northeast. They are 1.2° apart, over two full-moon diameters. They are the brightest planets and the third and fourth brightest celestial bodies.
Simply described, an hour before sunrise, step outside and look eastward. Two bright stars are near each other. Venus, to the right, is brighter than all other stars in the sky this morning. Jupiter, to the left, is noticeably dimmer than Venus, but very bright.
Telescopic Views
Through a telescope, Venus displays a morning gibbous phase, 78% illuminated, while three of Jupiter’s moons are easily seen, two to the lower right of the planet and one to the upper right. Its salmon and white cloud stripes are easy to see.
Both planets are stepping eastward in front of Gemini. The Twins, Castor and Pollux are over 12° – more than the distance across an extended fist from thumb knuckle to pinky finger knuckle – to Jupiter’s lower left.
Tomorrow morning, Venus passes to Jupiter’s lower right, a Venus-Jupiter conjunction.
Saturn, Gibbous Moon
Farther southward, the gibbous moon, 95% illuminated, is over one-third of the way from the southwest horizon to overhead and over 15° to Saturn’s lower right.
Saturn slowly retrogrades in front of Pisces’ dim stars, made fainter by this morning’s moonlight, mid-twilight’s phase, and outdoor lighting. Through a telescope, the rings are seen nearly edge-on, like looking at the side of a dinner plate. This orientation reflects light away from Earth, making the planet appear dimmer than average.
Saturn’s brightness seems incomparable to Venus and Jupiter, though after accounting for their brightness, it is the eighth brightest starlike body this morning.
Morning Planet Parade Developing
A morning planet parade is unfolding in the predawn sky. Mercury is joining Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn, along with the dimmer Uranus and Neptune, though the bright moon affects visibility of the latter two this morning. Mercury rises 65 minutes before the sun and 25 minutes later it is less than 5° above the east-northeast horizon.
Mercury reaches its largest viewing position from the sun, known as greatest elongation, on the 19th, though it visible during bright morning twilight. When it becomes visible, Uranus and Neptune are hidden in morning’s light. When the parade occurs, begin looking for Neptune though a binocular at least two hours before sunrise.
Perseid Meteors Muted by Moonlight
Tomorrow morning, the Perseid meteor shower peaks across the Americas, though the dimmer shooting stars are muted by moonlight. This morning, during the hours before the beginning of morning twilight, 10 or so meteors are visible every hour, emerging from a point high in the east-northeast. Perseids can be seen in any direction in the sky.
Sirius Heliacal Rising
At Chicago’s latitude, Sirius makes its first morning appearance or heliacal rising. The star was important in the ancient Egyptian calendar, marking the time of Nile River flooding and the beginning of the agricultural season. While the civil calendar used a year with 365 days, it had no leap years. The agricultural year began at the new moon phase following the star’s appearance.
Mars
After sunset, Mars continues a slow slide into evening twilight. Use a binocular to find it over 5° up in the west and over 20° to Spica’s lower right, Virgo’s brightest star.
Saturn, Evening Gibbous Moon
Saturn rises in the east and Mars sets in the west about 100 minutes after sundown. By three hours after nightfall, the Ringed Wonder is nearly 15° up in the east-southeast and 5.2° to the moon’s lower left. During the night, they appear farther westward, while the moon revolves eastward.
Tomorrow morning, Venus passes 0.9° to Jupiter’s lower right. While two Venus-Jupiter conjunctions occur in the interim, they are not this close again until 2028.
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