September 19, 2025: Before sunrise, the crescent moon joins Venus and Regulus for a rare, spectacular morning gathering. Saturn nears Opposition and an all-night westward trek.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 6:35 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 6:53 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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Spectacular Venus, Moon, Regulus Gathering
Before sunrise, the crescent moon joins Venus and Regulus, Leo’s brightest star, for a rare spectacular gathering of the three bodies.
Venus, Moon, and Regulus fit 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?
Rare Close Gatherings Recap
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.
While several conjunctions and close gatherings occurred during this Venusian apparition, this is the most compact grouping of Venus with two other celestial bodies.
Before Sunrise
Here’s what to see 45 minutes before sunrise:
- The crescent moon, 5% illuminated, stands about 15° up in the eastern sky, 0.5° to the right of brilliant Venus and 1.0° to Regulus’ left. The gathering easily fits into the same binocular field.
- The moon occults (eclipses) Venus from sky watchers in far northwest Canada and northern Alaska.
- The lunar crescent occults Regulus from western Russia, Europe, Greenland, and Iceland.
- Look for earthshine on the moon, caused by sunlight reflected from Earth’s oceans, clouds, and land. Capture the effect and the gathering with a tripod-mounted camera using exposures of a few seconds. A steady handheld smart camera phone can record the scene.
- Bright Jupiter, nearly 40° to Venus’ upper right, is high in the east-southeast, to Pollux’s lower right, one of the Gemini Twins.
- Saturn is low in the west-southwest.
- When Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn are above the horizon, Uranus and Neptune are visible through a binocular about two hours before daybreak for about 45 minutes.
After Sundown
- Mercury and Mars are washed out of view in the western sky by bright evening twilight. Mercury emerges from its superior conjunction with the sun, while Mars continues to slide into twilight toward its solar conjunction early next year.
- Saturn is at opposition after midnight on the 21st. Earth passes between the sun and the Ringed Wonder, placing it in the sky all night. Through a telescope, the planet’s rings are viewed nearly from the edge, like the side of a dinner plate. The planet is best viewed when it is higher in the sky around the midnight hour.
Look for the spectacular gathering of Venus, Moon and Regulus before sunrise. They are accompanied by Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune in a five-planet parade.
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