October 27, 2025: Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, and the moon are visible during the night. Use a binocular to see the moon with Sagittarius after sunset.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 7:17 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 5:51 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
Three bright planets and the waxing crescent moon are visible during the nighttime hours.
Venus, Jupiter, Bright Stars
Before sunrise, Venus and Jupiter outshine all the stars in the sky, including Sirius, Arcturus, Capella, Betelgeuse, Rigel, Procyon, Aldebaran, and Regulus — eight of the ten brightest stars visible from the mid-northern latitudes.
The Morning Star retreats into morning twilight as it moves toward its solar conjunction early next year. At mid-twilight, about 45 minutes before sunrise, it is less than 20° above the east-northeast horizon.
Look for Arcturus, over 30° to Venus’ upper left. As the second brightest star visible from mid-northern latitudes, it shines with only about 3% of Venus’ brightness.
At this hour, bright Jupiter is high in the south, near Pollux, one of the Gemini Twins. It moves eastward, 6.7° below that star. The Jovian Giant rises before midnight and climbs higher in the sky during the new calendar day.
Venus passed Jupiter on August 12 and quickly stepped away. This morning, their separation is over 80°, with Venus far to Jupiter’s east.
After sundown, the crescent moon, 34% illuminated, is nearly 20° above the west-southwestern horizon in front of Sagittarius. Even at this phase, the moon lights the ground and casts faint shadows.
Use a binocular to spot the stars of Sagittarius near the moon. The lunar orb is near Tau Sagittarii (τ Sgr).
Saturn
Saturn is easily visible in the east-southeast as night falls. Noticeably dimmer than Venus and Jupiter, it is the brightest starlike object in that region. Through a telescope, the rings appear nearly as a line — an edge-on view that occurs about every 15 years as Saturn progresses through its nearly 30-year orbit. During the night, the Ringed Wonder crosses the southern sky before midnight and sets in the west before morning twilight begins.
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