July 7, 2026: Venus closes in on Regulus after sunset while the waning moon appears near Saturn before sunrise. Follow the changing lunar phase and the bright evening and morning planets.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 5:23 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 8:28 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: Daylight diminishes across the northern hemisphere and increases across southern hemisphere latitudes. At Chicago’s latitude, daylight spans 15 hours, 8 minutes, compared to 13 hours, 41 minutes in Miami. Farther northward, the sun is in the sky in Anchorage for 18 hours, 55 minutes, losing 15 minutes since the beginning of the month. The sun is overhead at local noon at latitude 22.5° north. South of the equator in Auckland, daylight lasts 9 hours, 44 minutes.
Moon: The moon reaches the morning half moon phase (Last Quarter) at 2:29 p.m. Central Time when it is below the horizon in the Americas. Before sunrise, the lunar orb, 55% illuminated, is 45° above the southeast horizon, 6.6° to Saturn’s upper right. This morning’s phase is gibbous, with a slightly convex terminator – the line that divides day and night. Tomorrow morning, the line is slightly concave, indicating the beginning of the waning crescent phase.
Inner Planets
Mercury: The Elusive Planet sets about 10 minutes after the sun. It reaches inferior conjunction between Earth and Sun in less than a week. Then it moves into the eastern morning sky.
Venus: The Evening Star continues to dominate the western evening sky. An hour after sunset, it is less than 15° above the horizon and 2.3° to Regulus’ right, Leo’s brightest star. Their conjunction occurs in two nights. Through a telescope, Venus is 66% illuminated, an evening gibbous. Throughout the month, its brightness increases about 10%. Notice that Venus is appearing farther southward along the western horizon as the ecliptic – the plane of the solar system – flattens and mirrors the sun’s slow southern movement.
Bright Outer Planets
Mars: The Red Planet is in the eastern sky before sunrise. Noticeably dimmer than Saturn in the southeast, the planet is nearly 20° above the east-northeast horizon an hour before sunrise. It is east of an imaginary line from the Pleiades to Aldebaran, the Bull’s brightest star. It continues to march eastward in front of Taurus.
Through a binocular, Mars passes the “V” of Taurus made by Aldebaran and the Hyades star cluster during the next several mornings. The figure is on its side with Gamma Tauri (γ Tau) at the shape’s point and Aldebaran and Epsilon Tauri (ε Tau) at the top. Compare the colors of the stars in the Hyades and the Pleiades. The Pleiades has more blue stars, while Delta1 (δ1 Tau), Delta2 (δ2 Tau), and Theta2 (θ2 Tau) are representative blue stars in the Hyades.
Jupiter: After its apparition near the Gemini Twins, Jupiter is in bright evening twilight. It sets 65 minutes after sunset. The Jovian Giant reaches solar conjunction later in the month.
Saturn: As noted in the moon section, the lunar orb appears near the Ringed Wonder this morning. While better views are ahead, the rings are visible through a telescope. They are tilted about 10°.
Faint Outer Planets
Uranus: The Tilted World is in the same binocular field with the Pleiades. This morning Mars guides the way. Put the Red Planet toward the lower left edge of the field of view. Uranus is near the center. Notice star 37 Tauri (37 Tau) to Mars’ upper right. Nearby, star 39 Tauri (39 Tau) is about the same brightness as Uranus. If 39 Tauri is visible, aquamarine Uranus is visible as well.
Neptune: The Distant Planet is 10° to Saturn’s right. In this morning’s moonlight, it is too faint to be easily found.
The Evening Star approaches Regulus in Leo while the waning moon appears near Saturn before sunrise. Track the changing lunar phase and the bright planets visible during July.
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