August 14, 2026: See Venus and the waxing crescent moon low in the western evening sky while Mars is near Castor’s foot and Saturn in front Pisces highlight the predawn sky.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 5:58 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 7:52 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
Three bright planets are easily visible during the night as the moon re-enters the western evening sky. While the Perseid meteor shower peaked during the past two mornings, the rate is high. Look for meteors after midnight and before the beginning of morning twilight.
Morning Sky
Before sunrise, Mars is in the eastern sky near Castor’s foot, one of the Gemini Twins. The planet continues its eastward march. An hour before daybreak, the Red Planet is over 30° above the eastern horizon and 2.1° above Propus, Castor’s toe. Through a binocular, Mars is 0.7° to the right of the star cluster Messier 35 (M 35). While not as prominent as the Pleiades, Hyades, or Beehive star clusters, M 35 is muted by the approaching sunrise. Like Regulus, Rho Leonis, Spica, and other bright stars, M 35 serves as a milestone marking a planet’s motion against the starry background.
Mars is dimmer than might be expected because it is over 180 million miles away. While it is about the same color as Aldebaran and Betelgeuse, it is noticeably dimmer than both stars. The planet brightens steadily through the year as Earth closes the distance before opposition early next year.
Saturn
At this hour, Saturn, the solar system’s crown jewel, is in the south-southwest. Rising in the eastern sky two hours before local midnight, the planet appears farther westward by morning. This morning it is 50° above the south-southwest horizon. As the brightest starlike body in the region, the Ringed Wonder retrogrades in front of Pisces’ dim stars, an illusion caused by Earth overtaking the slower-moving outer planet.
Through a telescope, Saturn’s rings are easily visible. The current view favors the planet’s southern hemisphere and the southern side of the rings.
After Sunset
After sunset, the crescent moon returns to the western evening sky. This evening, the moon’s visibility is affected by the shallow angle the ecliptic, the solar system’s plane, makes with the western horizon. At 30 minutes after sunset, the lunar crescent is 5° above the western horizon. Find an observing location with a clear horizon. A binocular may be necessary to initially locate the moon in the bright twilight sky. During the next few evenings, the waxing crescent appears noticeably higher and easier to see. Tomorrow evening, it is near Venus.
Venus is over 15° to the moon’s upper left. To locate it during bright twilight, use the roofline of a nearby building, the top of a lamppost, or tree branches as reference points. Walking a few steps back and forth may help reveal Venus above the obstruction. The nearby terrestrial feature often improves the contrast needed for the initial sighting.
Venus, Spica
Thirty minutes later, Venus is less than 10° above the west-southwest horizon. The Evening Star steps eastward in front of Virgo, 16.0° to Spica’s lower right, the constellation’s brightest star, and 4.8° to Porrima’s lower right, also known as Gamma Virginis. Venus reaches greatest elongation in two evenings. Watch the narrowing gap between Venus and Spica as the planet approaches their conjunction on September 1. Look for Venus, Mars, Saturn, and the returning crescent moon during the nighttime hours and follow their changing positions from night to night.
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