December 25, 2025: Jupiter and Saturn shine during Christmas night, with a bright crescent moon after sunset and Jupiter dominating the western sky before sunrise.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 7:16 a.m. CST; Sunset, 4:25 p.m. CST. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times.
Christmas Nigh Sky
Two planets and the crescent moon are the brightest solar system bodies visible during the nighttime hours.
Jupiter before Sunrise
Before sunrise, bright Jupiter is in the western sky. After its nearly all-night passage across the sky, the Jovian Giant is about 30° above the western horizon. With Venus immersed in bright sunlight, Jupiter is brighter than all the stars.
Jupiter retrogrades — the illusion of westward motion against the distant starfield from night to night — in front of Gemini, 6.6° to Pollux’s lower left, one of the Twins.
As Jupiter retrogrades Earth is overtaking it. When our planet passes between Jupiter and the sun, known as opposition, the giant planet is brightest in the sky and closest to us.
Saturn and Moon after Sunset
Jupiter first appears in the east-northeast about two hours after sunset. Earlier, about one hour after sundown, find the Christmas crescent moon, 30% illuminated, less than halfway from the south-southwest horizon to overhead. Moonlight is bright enough to illuminate the ground and cast shadows.
Earthshine — sunlight reflected from Earth’s clouds, oceans, and land that softly illuminates the lunar night — is more difficult to see tonight and remains challenging until the moon returns to a slim morning crescent. Longer exposures tend to overexpose the bright crescent while revealing little earthshine.
Saturn, nearly halfway from the southern horizon to overhead, is nearly 15° to the moon’s upper left. Not as bright as Jupiter, the Ringed Wonder is dimmer than average. The rings are oriented nearly edge-on, redirecting reflected sunlight away from Earth.
Jupiter Later
Three hours after sunset, Jupiter is in the east-northeast, to Pollux’s lower right. The solar system’s largest planet is south after midnight and returns to the western sky before sunrise.
Find Jupiter, Saturn, and the moon during the Christmas nighttime hours.
On a Personal Note
This is Christmas for me. I wish all of you a Merry Christmas. If you celebrate the season differently, I wish you the best and a happy New Year. Thank you to regular readers and to those who stop by for special skywatching events. Merry Christmas to all and to all a clear night!
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