September 10, 2025: Before sunrise, watch Venus, the moon, and Regulus form a rare gathering over the next nine mornings. The trio’s closest approach occurs September 19, when they fit into a single binocular field. Jupiter and Saturn shine in the morning sky, while Uranus and Neptune return once moonlight fades.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 6:26 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 7:08 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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Rare Morning Gathering Unfolds
Before sunrise, watch a rare grouping of Venus, the moon, and Regulus unfold during the next nine mornings. On September 19th, the trio fits into a patch of sky small enough to be covered by your extended thumb. They also fit within the 7.5° field of a standard binocular. A similarly close grouping does not occur again until September 22, 2041, when the three fit into a circle 7.2° in diameter. Using the binocular field as a standard measure, how often do Venus, the moon, and Regulus bunch this closely together?
The moon passes Regulus every month, while Venus meets the star once each calendar year. During the next 16 years, six of these potential gatherings occur when the group is too close to the sun to be seen. In 2026, 2031, and 2033, the groupings are just beyond the binocular field, too wide to capture together. Seven others span more than 10°, about the width of your fist at arm’s length. Although the cycles of Venus and the moon nearly align each year with Regulus, truly tight groupings are rare.
For the next several mornings, bright moonlight blots out dim Uranus and Neptune. The search for these planets is suspended until the moon wanes to the crescent phase.
Morning Sky
Here’s what to look for as the Venus-Moon-Regulus grouping unfolds:
- At 45 minutes before sunrise, about mid-twilight, the bright moon, 91% illuminated, is about halfway up in the west-southwest and almost 25° to Saturn’s upper left. The Ringed Wonder is about 20° above the horizon.
- Venus approaches Regulus, crossing the Leo border this morning. Brilliant Venus is less than 20° above the eastern horizon, 11° to Regulus’ upper right. The star is less than 10° above the horizon. Use a binocular to initially locate it.
- Regulus is over 125° east of the moon. Venus cuts its gap to the star about 1° or two full-moon diameters each morning, while the moon’s daily change is 13°.
- Jupiter is the third bright planet. Noticeably dimmer than Venus, the Jovian Giant slowly moves eastward in front of Gemini, nearly 30° to the Morning Star’s upper right and 7.8° to the right of Pollux, one of the Gemini Twins. This planet is halfway up in the eastern sky.
- Mercury is still west of the sun, but rises only 16 minutes before the sun. It reaches superior conjunction, on the sun’s far side on the 13th.
Evening Sky
- Mars is in bright western twilight, setting 77 minutes after nightfall. To note its location against the background stars, it passes Spica, Virgo’s brightest star on the 13th.
- Saturn is nearing opposition on the 21st, when Earth is between the sun and the planet. On that night it rises at sunset. Tonight, it rises less than 30 minutes after sundown. By two hours after sunset, it is over 15° above the east-southeast horizon.
- The moon, 85% illuminated, is near the east-northeast horizon, over 35° to Saturn’s lower left. The gap between the pair is 10° wider than this morning.
Before sunrise, watch the moon quickly overtake Venus as it approaches Regulus to form a unique close gathering on the 19th.
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