August 26, 2025: Catch the final mornings of the six-planet parade as Mercury sinks into bright twilight. See Saturn, Neptune, Uranus, Venus, Jupiter, and Mars alongside the crescent moon in August’s sky.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 6:11 a.m. 8DT; Sunset, 7:33 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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Six-Planet Parade Dissolves
The six-planet parade is beginning to dissolve as Mercury descends into brighter morning twilight. It is visible for a few more mornings. The procession begins each clear evening when Saturn, followed shortly by Neptune, around an hour after nightfall.
During the night, the planetary pair appears farther westward. Uranus, near the Pleiades star cluster, rises around three hours after sundown, when Saturn and Neptune are about 30° up in the southeast. The Ringed Wonder is not exceedingly bright, though it outshines most of the stars in the sky at this hour.
The best time to begin look for dim Uranus and Neptune is about two hours before sunrise. This begins a window where all six planets are visible, but not simultaneously. Uranus and Neptune are washed out by morning’s light when Mercury is visible.
Uranus, Binocular View
Uranus is in the same binocular field with the star cluster, high in the east-southeast at this hour. Appearing as an aquamarine star, the planet is easily seen in the same starfield with the stellar bundle and the stars 13,14, 32, and 37 Tauri (Tau).
Neptune near Saturn
Neptune is in the same binocular field with Saturn. With the Ringed Wonder at the center of the field of view, very faint bluish Neptune is above the planet. This is a challenging view. Its sighting make take multiple attempts across several mornings.
Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury
As morning twilight starts and brightens, Venus and Jupiter shine brightly from the eastern sky. Venus, the brightest starlike body in the sky, is 14° to Jupiter’s lower left, after their conjunction two weeks ago.
Venus steps eastward in front of Cancer, 10.0° to Gemini’s Pollux, one of the Twins, lower right. Notice that it is east of an imaginary line from Castor, the second Twin, and extended through Pollux.
Use Binocular to see Mercury
The Morning Star is over 16° to Mercury’s upper right. The solar system’s innermost planet is bright, yet muted by the thick air near the horizon and the colors of mid-twilight. Use a binocular to initially locate it over 5° above the east-northeast horizon. Find a clear horizon looking toward Mercury.
Beginning two hours before sunrise and running for about 75 minutes, the six planets are visible. When Mercury is visible, find Saturn in the southwestern sky, over 135° west of the speedy planet.
After Mercury disappears from the morning sky, Venus, Jupiter, Neptune, and Saturn are visible in a similar fashion. Beginning in mid-October, Saturn and Neptune set before Venus rises, stretching the planet parade’s viewing windows to different nighttime hours.
Evening Mars, Crescent Moon
After sunset, the crescent moon, 14% illuminated, is over 5° up in the west-southwest and 6.7° to Spica’s lower right, Virgo’s brightest star. Find a clear horizon looking toward the crescent.
This might be the last opportunity to see Mars before its final slow descent into brighter twilight. The Red Planet is 6.1° to the moon’s upper right. They fit into the same binocular field. Without the moon guiding the way, this view of Mars would be very challenging. Porrima, also known as Gamma Virginis, is 3.3° to Mars’ upper right.
Photograph the scene with a tripod-mounted camera. To catch Mars in this level of twilight, exposures less than a second are helpful. To record earthshine, a soft glow on the moon’s night portion, exposures up to a few seconds produce pretty images.
This evening Saturn rises 65 minutes after sunset and 25 minutes before Mars sets, beginning the six-planet parade for tomorrow morning. Be sure to see it before Mercury recedes into brighter morning light.
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