June 18, 2026: As the solstice approaches, a waxing crescent moon joins Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury after sunset while Saturn and Mars shine before sunrise. Learn where to look for the planets.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 5:15 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 8:29 p.m. CDT. 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
Almanac for Sun, Moon, and Planets
Sun,Moon
Sun: As the solstice nears, daylight is nearing its annual maximum. In the northern hemisphere. At Chicago’s latitude, daylight spans 15 hours, 14 minutes, compared to 13 hours, 44 minutes in Miami. At farther north locales, the sun is in the sky longer, 19 hours, 22 minutes in Anchorage, where there is no darkness – only daylight and twilight. The sun is overhead at local noon at the Tropic of Cancer, latitude 23.5° north. Meanwhile, south of the equator, daylight nears its shortest length, 9 hours, 38 minutes in Auckland as winter’s first day approaches.
Moon: Now east of the three bright evening planets, the waxing lunar crescent, 21% illuminated, is over 20° above the west horizon. It is 16° to brilliant Venus’ upper left and nearly 8° to Regulus’ lower right, Leo’s brightest star. Earthshine is visible and easily photographed with the three planets to the lower right.
Morning Planets
Four planets are in the eastern sky before sunrise. Golden Saturn is easiest to see, nearly 30° above the east-southeast horizon an hour before daybreak. The planet is not yet in a prime position to see its rings through a telescope. Neptune is in Saturn’s region, although it is not visible through morning twilight.
Mars continues to emerge from morning twilight in the east-northeast. Use a binocular to see it 10° above the horizon. It marches eastward in front of Aries, nearly 18° to Hamal’s lower left, Aries’ brightest star. It continues to open a gap with Saturn. This morning their separation is 39°. Uranus is farther eastward from Mars and lower in the sky. Wait until later in the summer to see it in the same binocular field with the Pleiades.
Evening Planets
As noted in the moon section, three bright planets are in the west-northwest during evening twilight. Brilliant Venus steps eastward in front of Cancer, near the Beehive star cluster. They easily fit into the same binocular field, although the view is not ideal. At this level of twilight, only the cluster’s brightest stars are visible.Evening Planets
The Beehive is an ecliptic milestone. The bright planets are visible with it regularly, and the moon passes nearby each month, making the cluster a useful marker along the ecliptic.
Jupiter slowly rambles eastward in front of Gemini, 9.0° to the lower right of Venus and 7.5° to Pollux’s lower left, a Gemini Twin. After greatest elongation, Mercury fades 5.6° to Jupiter’s lower right. The Elusive Planet is easily identified through a binocular in the same field with Jupiter.
After spotting Mercury, place Jupiter at the center of the field of view to look for up to four of its large satellites. Mercury retreats into evening twilight, followed by Jupiter, although the Jovian Giant remains visible near the horizon.
Notice that from Regulus to Mercury, the five bright celestial bodies span nearly 40°.
With the solstice only a few days away, look for Saturn and Mars in the eastern sky before sunrise, while the waxing lunar crescent is lined up with Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury after sunset.
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