December 10, 2025: The moon stands near Regulus before sunrise, while Mercury lingers low in the east-southeast. Jupiter shines in the west and Saturn is well-placed after sundown.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 7:08 a.m. CST; Sunset, 4:20 p.m. CST. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times.
Today’s Forecast for Sun, Moon, and Planets
Sun: The central star is rising and setting near its southern-most points along the horizon. From Chicago, daylight’s duration is 9 hours, 12 minutes, while sunset continues at its earliest time until the 14th. In comparison, in Miami the sun shines for 10 hours, 34 minutes, while the sun is about the horizon in Anchorage for 5 hours, 39 minutes, where sunset occurs at 3:43 p.m.!
Moon: Before sunrise, the moon is near Regulus, Leo’s brightest star. One hour before sunup and during early twilight, find the lunar orb, 64% illuminated, high in the south-southwest, 2.4° to the star’s lower left. Later tonight the 56% illuminated moon rises near midnight, as the morning half-phase approaches.
Inner Planets
Mercury: The innermost planet is visible in the east-southeast during morning twilight. At 45 minutes before sunrise, the innermost planet appears nearly 10° above the east-southeast horizon, below the claws of Scorpius (stars Zubenelgenubi and Zubeneschamali). Because of atmospheric dimming near the horizon and rising sky brightness, Mercury is best located with a binocular and a clear natural horizon. Through the binocular find Graffias, near Scorpius’ head over 5° to Mercury’s lower left. The star is near its heliacal rising or first appearance.
Venus:
The Morning Star continues to sink into bright twilight and is not visible for easy observing.
Outer Planets
Mars: The Red Planet remains lost in evening twilight, setting less than 30 minutes after sunset. As it moves toward solar conjunction next month.
Jupiter: The Jovian Giant retrogrades in front of Gemini, about 6.5° to the lower right of Pollux. Jupiter passes the star in second conjunction in a series of three conjunctions (triple conjunction) in three nights. Before sunrise today, it is high in the western sky — the brightest starlike body visible as Venus disappears into sunlight. This evening, Jupiter rises less than three hours after sunset; two hours after that it climbs to about 20° above the east-northeast horizon.
Saturn: The Ringed Wonderremains well placed for telescopic viewing this evening. As darkness falls, the Ringed Wonder lies about halfway up in the south-southeast. Through a telescope under these circumstances the rings appear nearly edge-on, forming a thin line across the planet.
Uranus: The Tilted World is in the same binocular field with the Pleiades. Wait a few nights for the moon to appear as a thin crescent. Delaying observations until the moon is out of the way improves chances of spotting the planet.
Neptune: The solar system’s most distant planet is in the same general region as Saturn and can, be found through a binocular until the moon rises. The planet’s retrograde ends today.
Look for the moon and bright planets during nighttime hours.
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