August 9, 2026: A waning crescent moon passes Mars before sunrise while Mercury, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune remain visible. Brilliant Venus dominates the western evening sky.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 5:53 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 7:59 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
Before today’s planet summaries
Sunset occurs before 8 p.m. in Chicago. In regions farther westward within their time zones, sunset remains after 8 p.m. until later in the month. In Chicago, sunset does not occur after 8 p.m. again until June 4, 2027.
With the moon nearing the New phase, the Perseid meteor shower peaks on the mornings of August 12 and August 13. The shower’s radiant – point of origin – is high in the sky as morning twilight begins. Perseids can appear anywhere in the sky, although many are seen overhead. Expect 10-20 meteors per hour.
A total solar eclipse occurs across the Arctic, Greenland, Spain, and the ocean regions between them. North America sees a partial eclipse, with the northeastern United States experiencing the event.
Today’s Planet Highlights
- Waning Crescent Moon Passes Mars
- Mercury Retreats into Morning Twilight
- Saturn in South
- Uranus and Pleiades
- Brilliant Venus Targets Spica
Moon, Mars
An hour before sunrise, the waning crescent moon, 15% illuminated, is near Mars. Find them 30° above the eastern horizon. The Red Planet is 3.9° to Zeta Tauri’s lower left, the Bull’s southern horn.
The moon moves about 13° eastward from morning to morning. Tomorrow it is near the Gemini Twins. The crescent thins rapidly as the New phase approaches. From the moon, Earth is approaching the Full phase, with clouds, oceans, and land reflecting sunlight. This reflection gently illuminates the lunar night, creating earthshine. As the crescent becomes thinner, earthshine becomes easier to see. The effect is easily visible to the eye and striking through a binocular. It can be photographed with a steady camera and exposures of several seconds.
Mars marches eastward at a much slower speed than the moon. After passing between the Bull’s horns a week ago, the planet continues toward the Gemini boundary. Notice that the lunar crescent, Mars, and Zeta Tauri are nearly in a line.
The Red Planet is dimmer than might be expected because it is over 180 million miles from Earth. Its brightness is highly variable, increasing through the year as Earth closes its distance to Mars before opposition next year. While nearly the same color, Mars is dimmer than Aldebaran, Taurus’ brightest star, and Betelgeuse, Orion’s shoulder.
Mercury
At this hour, Mercury is near the east-northeast horizon. After its greatest elongation, the Elusive Planet retreats toward bright sunlight while brightening along the way. Find it over 5° above the horizon and 9.0° to Pollux’s lower right. As the sky brightens, Mercury is higher in the sky, but more difficult to see. Use a binocular to initially identify the planet.
Saturn
Farther southward, golden Saturn is over halfway from the southern horizon to overhead. The Ringed Wonder retrogrades in front of Pisces near the border with Cetus. The surrounding starfield is faint, making it challenging to find reference stars to follow Saturn’s apparent westward motion from morning to morning.
Saturn is approaching opposition, when Earth passes between the Ringed Wonder and the sun. As opposition nears, the planet rises earlier each evening and remains visible for a longer portion of the night.
Through a telescope, the planet’s rings are spectacular. Rising before local midnight, Saturn is higher in the southeast about three hours before sunrise. The rings and good views of the planet are possible through mid-twilight when the sky becomes too bright for appealing observations.
Uranus
Earlier, Uranus is visible through a binocular with the Pleiades star cluster. Resembling a tiny dipper, the stellar bundle is often first noticed with peripheral vision and is nearly 15° above Aldebaran. Through the binocular, first inspect the star cluster and its pretty blue stars. Next, move the binocular so the cluster is at the top of the field of view. Uranus is near the bottom of the field, a tight fit.
Find stars 37 and 39 Tauri (37 Tau and 39 Tau) close together below the field’s center. Shift the binocular slightly so those stars are above center. Aquamarine Uranus is about the same brightness as 39 Tauri and 2° below the pair. Before morning twilight begins, about two hours before daybreak, the planet might be visible with keen eyesight from a dark rural location.
Neptune is about 10° to Saturn’s right. Realistically, it is very challenging to see through a binocular because the surrounding starfield lacks bright reference stars that are easily identified.
Venus After Sunset
Meanwhile, after sunset, brilliant Venus dominates the western sky. It continues to brighten and grow larger through a telescope as it closes its distance to Earth.
An hour after sunset, the Evening Star is only 10° above the horizon. Not as high as it was a month ago at the same interval after sunset, its visibility is affected by the flattening of the ecliptic, the plane of the solar system, at this season. Venus also mirrors the sun’s changing sunset point farther southward along the horizon.
At this hour, Spica, Virgo’s brightest star, is 21° to Venus’ upper left. Their conjunction occurs on September 1. Watch Venus close the gap to the star. Tonight, use a binocular to find Porrima, also known as Gamma Virginis, 8.2° to Venus’ upper left.
Look for the moon with Mars, Mercury, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune before sunrise, while brilliant Venus gleams in the western evening sky. During this season, all five naked-eye planets can be observed in a single night, with Venus after sunset and Mercury, Mars, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune before sunrise.
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