August 20, 2025: During a rare morning display, Venus, the crescent moon, and Pollux form a compact bunch in the eastern sky. This tight grouping does not recur until 2039. Six major planets are visible before sunrise in parade of planets.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 6:04 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 7:43 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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Morning Planet Parade
Six major planets – Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune – are visible before sunrise. Uranus and Neptune are dim and require a binocular to see before morning twilight begins, nearly two hours before sunup.
During this rare planetary display, Venus, the crescent moon, and Pollux — one of the Gemini Twins — form a compact bunch not seen again until May 26, 2039.
Venus passed Jupiter on the 12th in a spectacular conjunction. The Morning Star continues to step away from the Jovian Giant. This morning, they are 8.1° apart.
Mercury, racing into the morning sky after passing between Earth and Sun on July 31st, reached its greatest elongation yesterday.
Venus-Moon-Pollux Gathering
Here’s how to see this morning’s scene: Step outside 45 minutes before sunrise. Brilliant Venus is nearly 21° above the east-northeast horizon, about one-fifth of the way up from the horizon to overhead.
At this hour, Mercury is nearly 10° up in the east-northeast, about 15° to Venus’ lower left. Jupiter is 8.0° to Venus’ upper right. Mercury, Venus, the crescent moon, and Jupiter span nearly 24° across the eastern sky.
Close Gathering Repeats in 2039
The crescent moon, 9% illuminated, is 4.4° to Venus’ upper left and 2.7° to Pollux’ lower right. Venus, Moon, and Pollux tightly fit within a binocular’s field of view — a rare arrangement. This compact grouping does not repeat until 2039. In the interim, the three celestial wonders gathers over a dozen times, though not this closely.
On June 15, 2037, the group fits into a circle 8.2° across, too wide for a binocular. Other gatherings range from 12.1° to 21.2°.
While not a “triple conjunction” in the traditional sense — when one object passes another three times — three conjunctions occur this morning: Venus–Moon, Venus–Pollux, and Moon–Pollux.
Photograph the Scene
Capture the scene with a tripod-mounted camera using exposures of a few seconds. A steady smartphone camera can record the display.
The photograph will capture earthshine, sunlight reflected from Earth’s features that gently lights up the lunar night.
Step outside 45 minutes before sunrise to catch Venus, the crescent moon, and Pollux tightly grouped in the east-northeast.
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