June 27, 2026: Mars closes in on the Pleiades before sunrise while the Strawberry Moon nears Full Moon phase. Saturn, Venus, Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune add to a sky filled with planetary targets.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 5:17 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 8:30 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: Nearly a week after the solstice, daylight’s length slowly shrinks in the northern hemisphere. At Chicago’s latitude, daylight spans 15 hours 11 minutes, compared to 13 hours, 44 minutes in Miami. Anchorage sees a rapid decline in daylight at 19 hours, 9 minutes, already 13 minutes shorter than the solstice duration. The sun is overhead at local noon at latitude 23° north. South of the equator in Auckland – at a southerly latitude similar to Nashville’s northern location – daylight is 9 hours, 38 minutes long.
Moon: Approaching the Full Moon phase, the Strawberry Moon, 97% illuminated, is 15° above the south-southeast horizon during evening twilight. It is 6.1° to Antares’ lower left, Scorpius’ brightest star. Earlier in the day, the moon occults (eclipses) the star from New Zealand, parts of Australia, and southern Africa. The moon is Full in two evenings at 6:57 p.m. Central Time.
Morning Planets
Saturn
Four planets are in the eastern sky before sunrise. Saturn and Mars are easier to see than Uranus and Neptune. An hour before sunrise, golden Saturn is over 30° above the east-southeast horizon. At a higher altitude – height above the horizon – the planet’s rings are easier to see through a telescope, although better views are ahead when Saturn is visible in a dark sky.
The Ringed Wonder slowly creeps eastward in front of Pisces’ dim stars, made even fainter by morning’s light.
Neptune
Faint Neptune is not visible at this level of morning twilight. It is only 15% of Uranus’ brightness. The Distant Planet is nearly 10° to Saturn’s upper right in front of Pisces’ dim stars.
Mars
At this hour, Mars is 15° above the east-northeast horizon. Because it is over 200 million miles from Earth, it is dimmer than expected. The Red Planet’s brightness varies with its distance from Earth.
Marching eastward in front of Taurus, Mars and the Pleiades star cluster are in the same binocular field of view. The planet passes the stellar bundle in two mornings.
Mars, Uranus
Look for Uranus in the same binocular field with Mars and the star cluster. This is a challenging view because of the level of twilight. Shift the binocular so that the star cluster is near the top of the field. The stars 37 and 39 Tauri (37 Tau and 39 Tau), toward the lower left edge, are guides to the Tilted World. Star 37 Tauri is about the brightness of the Pleiades’ dimmer stars. Star 39 Tauri is only 25% of Star 37’s brightness and approximately the same brightness as aquamarine Uranus, 1.4° to the lower right. If 39 Tauri is not visible at this level of twilight, it is likely the planet is not visible as well. Uranus is in the same field of view with the Pleiades until next spring. Mars passes Uranus on July 4. By then this planet pair and the background stars are higher in the sky. Better views are ahead for both planets
Evening Sky
Venus and Jupiter are in the west-northwest after sunset as Mercury nears inferior conjunction. The moon is in the south-southeast near Antares as noted in the Moon section.
During brighter twilight at 45 minutes after sunset, brilliant Venus is nearly 20° above the west-northwest horizon. It steps eastward in front of Cancer moving toward a conjunction with Leo’s Regulus next month.
Jupiter, nearly 20° to Venus’ lower right, is less than 10° above the horizon and quickly slipping into bright twilight. Like Venus, the Jovian Giant slowly rambles eastward in front of Cancer. It is 8.8° to Pollux’s lower left. A binocular is needed to see Pollux and its mythological Twin, Castor.
During early summer, the Strawberry Moon and four bright planets are easily visible during nighttime hours.
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