August 12, 2025: Venus and Jupiter, the two brightest planets, shine in a spectacular conjunction this morning. Separated by less than 1°, they dazzle in the east before sunrise. Don’t miss this stunning view—plus meteor activity, Saturn, and Sirius on the rise.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 5:56 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 7:55 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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Venus Summary Article
Spectacular Predawn Venus-Jupiter Conjunction
This morning Venus passes Jupiter in a spectacular predawn conjunction. The two brightest planets are 0.9° apart, about the distance of two full-moon diameters. Here’s what to see:
Step outside an hour before sunrise and look eastward. The two bright stars are these two planets. Venus, the brighter, is to Jupiter’s lower right. After the sun and moon, Venus and Jupiter are the third and fourth brightest celestial bodies, though on rare occasions Mars can be brighter than Jupiter.
Close Enough to Fit into Spotting Scope Eyepiece
The conjunction fits easily in a binocular field of view and tightly into the same field at 40x magnification. It is easily seen at 25x power. In the eyepiece, at least three of Jupiter’s largest moons are visible.
Photograph Conjunction
Photograph the conjunction with a tripod-mounted camera and exposures up to a few seconds. A steadily-held smartphone camera can capture the view.
See Close, Far Apart
In the sky, the two planets look close together. They are nearly 440 million miles apart in space, nearly five times Earth’s distance from the sun.
Future Conjunctions
Venus-Jupiter conjunctions occur nearly every calendar year. Their last conjunction occurred near the sun on May 23, 2024. Before then, a pretty conjunction occurred on March 1, 2023. This table displays the conjunction’s visibilities through 2030.
| Date | Location in Sky | Gap | Visibility |
| June 6, 2026 | WNW, evening | 1.6° | Easy to see, over 15° in altitude. Pollux 5.3° to V’s upper right. |
| August 25, 2027 | WNW, evening | 0.5° | Not easily visible. V-J only 2° above horizon at sunset |
| November 9-10, 2028 | ESE, morning | 0.8° | In Americas close on Nov 9th and 10th. The conjunction is nearly 20° above the horizon. Venus is 8.2° above Spica. |
| September 7, 2029 | WSW, evening | 1.8° | V-J are less than 10° above horizon. V-J-Spica fit into a circle 4.0° across. |
| November 20, 2030 | WSW, evening | 0.4° | Not easily visible. V only 3° above the horizon at sunset. Poor visibility like 2027 conjunction. |
Saturn, Bright Moon
This morning, the bright moon, 88% illuminated, is halfway from the southwest horizon to overhead. It is 3.6° to Saturn’s upper right.
Perseid Meteors Muted by Bright Moon
The moonlight this morning affects the visibility of dimmer shooting stars as the Perseid meteor shower peaks across the Americas before morning twilight begins. The meteors emerge from high in the east-northeast. While most of the meteors are visible near this radiant point, Perseids can be seen anywhere in the sky. With the moonlight and the effects of outdoor lighting, 10-15 brighter meteors are visible each hour between midnight and the beginning of twilight.
Sirius
Sirius, the night’s brightest star, is making its first morning appearance or heliacal rising across the mid-northern latitudes. Around 45 minutes before sunup, the star is low in the east-southeast. The actual date of the appearance depends on local topography and the weather.
Morning Planet Parade
As the moon wanes farther, Mercury begins to appear in the eastern sky to mark the eastern edge of a parade of six major planets before sunrise. The speedy planet reaches its greatest elongation and best appearance in a week.
The planets in the parade are not visible simultaneously. When Mercury is visible, bright twilight overwhelms Uranus, appearing near the Pleiades star cluster, and Neptune, in the same binocular field with Saturn.
More to See
During the next few mornings, watch Venus step away from Jupiter. On the 20th, Venus, crescent Moon, and Pollux are near each other in a close gathering that is not repeated until 2039!
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