July 2, 2026: See four bright planets and a waning gibbous moon during the nighttime hours. Find Saturn, Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Uranus, the Pleiades star cluster, and Aldebaran.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 5:20 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
Today’s Celestial Summary for the Planets and Moon
Before Sunrise
Moon
An hour before sunup, the bright waning gibbous moon, 95% illuminated, is nearly 25° above the south-southwest horizon in front of Capricornus. Deneb Algedi, the Sea Goat’s tail, is over 15° to the upper left. Look carefully for it in this moonlight.
Saturn
Farther eastward, golden Saturn is over 35° above the southeast horizon, slowly crawling eastward in front of Pisces’ dim stars. The Ringed Wonder is easy to locate as the brightest starlike body in the region. It is high enough to see its rings through a telescope at this hour, nearly inclined 10°. Better views are ahead later in the month when the planet is higher in the sky before morning twilight begins.
Mars
In the east-northeast, Mars continues its eastward march along the ecliptic in front of Taurus. The Red Planet is about one-fourth of Saturn’s brightness because it is over 200 million miles from Earth. Initially, use a binocular to see it 15° above the east-northeast horizon, nearly 5° to the Pleiades’ lower right and 9° to Aldebaran’s upper right, the Bull’s brightest star.
Mars, Uranus
Use a binocular to find Mars, Uranus, and the star cluster in the same field of view. Moonlight may overwhelm Uranus, but attempt to see it. Shift the binocular slightly so that the Pleiades are near the top of the field. Mars is toward the bottom. Next, locate 37 Tauri (37 Tau) to Mars’ upper left. The star is about the same brightness as the Pleiades’ dimmer stars. Star 39 Tauri (39 Tau), nearly the same brightness as Uranus, is adjacent to 37 Tauri and only about 25% of its brightness. In this moonlight, if 39 Tauri is visible, look for Uranus 1.3° to the lower right and 1.2° to Mars’ lower left. Mars passes Uranus in two mornings.
After Sunst
Venus, Jupiter
Brilliant Venus and Jupiter are visible after sundown. Jupiter is sliding into brighter evening twilight. This evening, at 45 minutes after sunset, the Jovian Giant is less than 5° above the west-northwest horizon. While it is low in the sky, it is bright enough to shine through the thicker layers of air. Look carefully for it.
Brilliant Venus is over 15° above the west horizon and 22° to Jupiter’s upper left. The Evening Star approaches Regulus, Leo’s brightest star. It passes 1.0° above the star in a week.
Through a telescope, Venus shows an evening gibbous phase, 68% illuminated. The phase shrinks to about half-full when it approaches greatest elongation during mid-August.
Moon
Tonight, the moon, 91% illuminated, rises two hours after sunset. An hour later it is less than 10° above the southeast horizon. Tomorrow morning, it is in the southern sky.
Look for the four bright planets, attempt to spot Uranus through a binocular, and follow the gibbous moon during the night.
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