August 15, 2025: Before sunrise, Venus and Jupiter glow in the east as the moon approaches Pollux for a rare gathering that includes Venus. Soon Mercury joins the morning sky as a six-planet parade unfolds.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 5:59 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 7:50 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
As daylight’s length decreases, tomorrow sunrise occurs after 6 a.m. Central Time in Chicago until April 21st.
Venus Opens a Gap with Jupiter
Before sunrise, Venus and Jupiter continue to dominate the eastern sky before sunrise. Three days after their spectacular conjunction, Venus has opened a gap to the Jovian Giant, measuring 3.2°. This separation continues to widen about 1° – two full-moon diameters – each morning.
In five mornings, Venus passes Pollux, one of the Gemini Twins. Conjunctions with the star are fairly wide because it is nearly 7° above the ecliptic, the plane of the solar system. On conjunction morning, the moon is between Venus and Pollux, a rare close gathering of the three celestial wonders that tightly fits into a binocular field of view. The three bodies are not this close again until 2039.
Look for Orion
Orion is easier to see each morning to the right of the two bright planets. Betelgeuse, a bright red-orange star, is about 25° up in the east and over 20° to Venus’ upper right. Procyon, the Little Dog Star, is about 5° above the east horizon and over 15° to the Morning Star’s lower right. Find it through a binocular.
Morning Gibbous Moon
This morning, the moon, 59% illuminated, is high in the southeast, 7.5° to the lower left of Hamal, Aries’ brightest star. This star is nearly 10° above the ecliptic. The planets and moon do not pass it closely. Look for Menkar, Cetus’ nostril, is over 15° to the moon’s lower right.
Saturn During Morning Twilight
Saturn, the third bright planet easily visible at this hour, is nearly halfway from the southwest horizon to overhead. It slowly retrogrades in front of Pisces dim stars, muted this morning by the bright moon and outdoor lighting.
Look for Deneb Kaitos, Cetus’ tail, to Saturn’s lower left and Fomalhaut, the mouth of the Southern Fish, nearly 10° above the horizon.
Perseids Past Peak
The Perseid meteor shower is past its peak. After midnight and before twilight brightens the sky, about 10 meteors can be seen each hour emerging from high in the east-northeast. This morning’s moonlight still diminishes the visibility of the dimmer shooting stars.
Mercury Entering Morning Sky
At this hour, Mercury is low in the east-northeast, though it is not bright enough for easy visibility. As the speedy planet reaches its farthest extent from the sun in four mornings and the moon passes through its morning crescent phases, the sky is dark enough to locate a six-planet parade, though the planets are not visible simultaneously.
Planet Parade Developing
While the moon is still too bright to find Neptune, the modern solar system model’s most-distant planet is in the same binocular field with Saturn. Brighter Uranus is in the same binocular field with the Pleiades star cluster. Tomorrow morning the Uranus, Moon, and the stellar bundle are in the same binocular field. It is easier to see in a few mornings.
When twilight paints the eastern morning sky, Uranus and Neptune are washed out, leaving Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn. When Mercury appears, Saturn is a questionable find as twilight is about the same brightness as the planet, though Saturn is in the southwest away from the approaching sunrise. At that time, the four brighter planets are visible. From Mercury to Saturn, the parade spans 125°.
Mars after Sunset
Mars, the only major planet not in the morning planet display, is east of the sun, setting before evening twilight ends – 100 minutes after nightfall. An hour after sundown, use a binocular to find it less than 10° up in the western sky and 5.3° to the lower right of Porrima – also known as Gamma Virginis.
Spica, Virgo’s brightest star, is less than 15° above the west-southwest horizon, less than 20° to Mars’ upper left.
Saturn
Saturn rises in the east about 10 minutes before Mars sets. By three hours after sunset, it is 15° above the east-southeast horizon. An hour later, the moon is low in the east-northeast.
Continue to watch Venus step away from Jupiter. Watch the rare gathering of Venus, Moon, and Pollux unfold as well as Mercury’s entry into the predawn sky to form a six-planet parade.
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