October 12-15, 2025: Over several mornings, the waning moon passes Jupiter, Pollux, and the Beehive star cluster in the southeastern sky before sunrise. Watch the moon form striking patterns with the planet and stars.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
The waning moon passes Jupiter in the southeast during morning twilight.
Here is the Scene:
Jupiter, noticeably dimmer than Venus, is the bright star high in the southeastern sky before sunrise. It slowly rambles eastward in front of Gemini near the Twins, Castor and Pollux. The Jovian Giant is nearly 7° to Pollux’s lower right. Jupiter passed the star in a wide conjunction on October 11th.
Jupiter rises before midnight in the eastern regions of time zones, an hour later farther westward in the zones. Before sunrise it is high in the southeast.
What to See
- October 12: The moon, 64% illuminated, is high in the south-southwest, over 20° to the moon’s upper right.
- October 13: Approaching the morning half-full phase or Last Quarter, the lunar orb is high in the south-southeast, 8.4° to Jupiter’s upper right and 7.2° to Pollux’s upper right. The three almost make an equilateral triangle. The moon reaches the Last Quarter phase at 1:13 p.m. Central Time.
- October 14: Closer to Jupiter and Pollux this morning, the moon, 42% illuminated, is 7.4° to the moon’s lower left and 7.5° to Pollux’s lower left, almost another equilateral triangle.
- October 15: Now 32% lit, the lunar orb is over halfway up in the east-southeast, 20° to Jupiter’s lower left. It is over halfway from Pollux to Leo’s Regulus. In a binocular, the moon tightly fits with Cancer’s Beehive star cluster. After seeing the crescent and cluster together, move the binocular slightly to center the cluster in the field of view. This is the last chance until next spring to see the crescent moon with the Beehive. During the next several months, the moon phase is brighter, making the view somewhat challenging.
During the next several mornings, watch the moon pass Jupiter and Gemini and appear with the Beehive star cluster.
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