July 9, 2026: Venus passes Regulus after sunset while Mars continues eastward in front of Taurus. Follow the crescent moon, Saturn, Uranus, and the changing planetary positions before sunrise.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 5:24 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 8:27 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
Planet Watch
• Venus–Regulus Conjunction
• Mars Passes Hyades
• Morning Moon
Venus–Regulus Conjunction
Brilliant Venus passes Regulus this evening. Step outside an hour after sunset. Brilliant Venus is nearly 15° above the western horizon. The planet steps eastward along the ecliptic – the plane of the solar system – in front of Leo. Tonight, it passes 1.0° to Regulus’ upper right, the Lion’s brightest star.
Venus revolves around the sun every 225 days, 61% of Earth’s year. Every eight Earth years and 13 Venus years, Venus returns to nearly the same place in the sky, nearly to the day. The image at the top of the article shows the Venus–Regulus conjunction on July 9, 2018.
While Venus and Regulus appear close together in the sky, the star is nearly 5 million times farther away from Earth than Venus.
Regulus is the closest bright star to the ecliptic. The planets pass the star regularly, while the moon passes each month. The next Venus-Regulus pairing occurs August 20, 2027, when they appear very close to the sun. The next visible conjunction occurs October 2, 2028, in the morning sky. An hour before sunrise, Venus is only 0.2° from the star when they are 25° above the eastern horizon.
Before Sunrise
Moon, Hamal
Meanwhile, before sunrise, the crescent moon, 33% illuminated, is about 40° above the east horizon, 5.9° to the lower right of Hamal, Aries’ brightest star. The phase is still bright enough to cast shadows.
Saturn
An hour before sunrise, golden Saturn is less than halfway from the horizon to overhead. It creeps slowly eastward in front of Pisces’ faint stars. Its rings are visible through a telescope, even at this level of morning twilight. They are a better sight when Saturn is higher in the sky before sunrise later in the summer.
Mars
At this hour, Mars is nearly 20° above the east-northeast horizon. It is not as bright as expected because it is nearly 200 million miles away. The Red Planet marches eastward in front of Taurus. It is 5.9° above Aldebaran, the Bull’s brightest star, and 8.3° to the Pleiades’ lower left.
Mars, Uranus
Through a binocular, Mars is in front of a rich Taurus starfield. After locating it, shift the binocular so that Mars is off center to the lower left. Identify the stars in its region – Omega (ω Tau), Kappa (κ Tau), and Upsilon (υ Tau) Tauri. Next find stars 37 and 39 Tauri (37 Tau, 39 Tau). Star 37 is about 10% of Mars’ brightness, dimmer but easily visible through the binocular. Star 39 is considerably fainter than star 37, although it is nearly the same brightness as aquamarine Uranus, 1.4° to the lower right. Do not confuse the planet with 43 Tauri (43 Tau) to the lower right. Uranus is about midway from 37 Tauri to 43 Tauri. The gap between Mars and Uranus continues to widen.
Mars, V of Taurus
After locating Uranus, shift the binocular slightly so that Mars is near the upper left edge of the field. The “V” of Taurus – made by Aldebaran and the Hyades star cluster – is near the center of the field. This morning Mars is about 4° to the upper left of Delta1 and Delta2 Tauri (δ1 Tau, δ2 Tau).
In the evening sky, watch Venus open a widening gap with Regulus. Before sunrise, the moon approaches Mars as the Red Planet marches eastward against Taurus.