March 4, 2026: Find the bright planets after sunset. Bright Jupiter dominates the night sky, while Uranus is seen through a binocular.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 6:21 a.m. CST; Sunset, 5:45 p.m. CST. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times.
Venus as an Evening Star
Today’s Almanac for Sun, Moon, and Planets
Sun and Moon
Sun: With the equinox 16 days away, daylight races toward 12 hours. In Chicago, the sun shines for 11 hours, 24 minutes, compared to 11 hours, 43 minutes in Miami. In Anchorage, daylight spans 10 hours, 43 minutes. In the Southern Hemisphere, the sun is overhead at noon near latitude 6° south. In Auckland, daylight lasts 12 hours, 46 minutes.
Moon: After yesterday’s lunar eclipse, the moon remains in the sky nearly all night. The bright gibbous moon is still nearly full and continues to qualify as the Worm Moon. It provides ample moonlight for nighttime walks. Before sunrise, the lunar orb is low in the west-southwest, nearly midway between Leo, Regulus and Virgo’s Spica. In the evening sky, it rises nearly 90 minutes after sunset. At three hours after sunset, it stands nearly 15° above the east-southeast horizon.
Inner Planets
Mercury: The Elusive Planet is well past its best evening appearance. It sets only 29 minutes after the sun. Mercury is rapidly overtaking Earth and passes between our planet and the sun in three days. It then moves into the morning sky, reaching greatest elongation on April 3. Even then, Mercury rises less than an hour before daybreak and stands only 5° above the horizon 30 minutes later. Its visibility suffers from the shallow angle the plane of the solar system makes with the eastern horizon before sunrise.
Venus: The Evening Star sets later each night, gaining about one minute of setting time compare to sunset. The observing window remains short. Find a clear western horizon. Thirty-five minutes after nightfall, Venus is 5° above the western horizon. With its brilliance, it shines through bright twilight. Use a binocular to initially locate it.
Bright Outer Planets
Mars: The Red Planet rises nearly 25 minutes before the sun and is veiled by predawn light. Like Mercury’s morning appearance, its visibility is reduced by a poorly inclined ecliptic. It does not appear in a darker sky until late spring.
Jupiter: The Jovian Giant remains the brightest planet of the night, until it sets in the west-northwest about three hours before daybreak. After sunset, Jupiter appears as a bright “star” high in the southeast near the Gemini Twins, Castor and Pollux. Its retrograde motion ens in six nights, 3.8° from Wasat. After returning to direct (eastward) motion, Jupiter passes Wasat on April 30. The pair fits within the same binocular field. Watch Jupiter slow, stop its westward direction, and resume eastward motion.
Saturn: The Ringed Wonder’s season of visibility is ending. Ten minutes after the time described in the Venus section, Saturn is less than 10° above the western horizon and to Venus’ upper left, though the two do not fit in the same binocular field. Saturn passes behind the sun in three weeks.
Faint Outer Planets
Uranus: With the moon rising later, the Tilted World is easier to locate with a binocular near the Pleiades star cluster. The Pleiades — resembling a miniature dipper — are over halfway up in the west-southwest at the end of evening twilight, about 90 minutes after sunset, and to Orion’s right. Uranus, appearing as an aquamarine star, lies near 13 and 14 Tauri (Tau), to the Pleiades’ lower left. From rural locations, free of outdoor lighting, Uranus can be seen without optical aid.
Neptune: More than three times Saturn’s distance from the sun, Neptune — in the same region of the sky — is washed out by evening twilight.
After sunset, look for Venus, Jupiter, and the moon. With a binocular, search carefully for Saturn and Uranus. Mercury, Mars, and Neptune are not visible.
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