September 5, 2025: Before sunrise, Venus, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn span the morning sky. Brilliant Venus shines at the same height as Sirius, adding to the celestial display.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 6:21 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 7:17 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
Five Planets on Display
The display of five planets – Venus, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune and Saturn – continues before sunrise. While Saturn and Neptune cross the eastern horizon during evening twilight, the quintet’s visibility begins about two hours before sunrise when Neptune and Uranus can be seen through a binocular.
Planet Parade Highlights
Two hours before sunrise, the five planets, from Venus – in the east-northeast – to Saturn, in the southwest, are on an imaginary arc spanning nearly 135°. Venus is near the horizon with bright Jupiter to the upper right.
- Through a binocular, Neptune is in the same field of view. Appearing as a very faint blue star, Neptune is above Saturn.
- Uranus is near the Pleiades star cluster high in the southeast. It is in a starfield about the same brightness as the aquamarine planet. The planet begins to retrograde during the overnight hours after sunset.
During Twilight
The dim planets fade as twilight brightens the sky. Until daybreak, follow Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn.
- At 45 minutes before sunrise, brilliant Venus is nearly 20° above the eastern horizon. It steps eastward in front of Cancer.
- Notice that Venus and Sirius, the night’s brightest star, are about the same height above the eastern horizon.
- Jupiter is nearly 25° to Venus’ upper right. It moves slowly eastward in front of Gemini, 8.3° to Pollux’s upper right.
- Saturn is nearly 25° above the west-southwest horizon.
- Now retreating into bright morning twilight, Mercury was a member of this parade recently.
One Hour after Sunset
- The bright gibbous moon, 96% illuminated, is 15° above the southeast horizon and near the star Deneb Algedi, Capricornus’ tail. Use a binocular
- Mars is not easily visible even with an optical assist as it slides into evening twilight.
Lunar Eclipse
This month’s Full moon occurs during the early afternoon on the 7th. A total lunar eclipse occurs for sky watchers across the Indian Ocean basin. This month’s bright moon is known as the Corn Moon. The Harvest Moon occurs on October 6th, the bright moon occurring closest to the autumn equinox.
Look for the five planets before sunrise for a few more mornings until the bright moon overwhelms the views of Uranus and Neptune, until the lunar phase returns to a thin crescent around mid-month.
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