September 11, 2026: Brilliant Venus appears deeper into evening twilight while Saturn approaches opposition. Before sunrise, Jupiter and Mars shine from the eastern sky as Mars closes the gap to Jupiter.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 6:27 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 7:07 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 Highlights
- Venus Descends Into Evening Twilight
- Saturn Approaches Opposition
- Bright Jupiter and Mars Before Sunrise
Venus Descends Into Evening Twilight
Brilliant Venus approaches its greatest brilliancy in less than two weeks, but it descends into evening twilight. The planet is over 40° from the sun, but the ecliptic makes a shallow angle with the western horizon. At 45 minutes after sunset, it is less than 5° above the west-southwest horizon.
In comparison, the planet stands high in the west-southwest from the southern hemisphere. Mercury becomes easier to see from the southerly latitudes, but it suffers the same poor visibility for sky watchers at the mid-northern latitudes. The moon appears near Venus in two evenings.
Venus passed Spica 10 evenings ago. This evening, the star is 7.4° to Venus’ right, a snug fit in a binocular and a challenging view from its low altitude – angular height above the horizon. The combination of an unobstructed horizon and minimum clouds reveals the Evening Star and Virgo’s brightest star through the binocular.
Saturn Nears Opposition
Saturn is in the sky nearly all night. Opposition nears on October 4 when Earth passes between the Ringed Wonder and the sun. This means that Saturn and the sun are in opposite directions. Like a Full moon, an outer planet at opposition rises in the east at sunset. It is south at midnight and sets in the west as the sun rises the next morning in the east.
At opposition, the outer planet is closest to Earth and brightest in the sky. Through a telescope, Saturn’s rings are tilted and the view is toward the southern hemisphere.
Saturn slowly retrogrades in front of a non-descript Cetus starfield. While the stars are not bright, its slow westward trek is easy to follow through a binocular.
This evening, Saturn rises in the east an hour after sunset. Two hours later, it is over 20° above the east-southeast horizon, south at four hours before sunrise, and in the southwest during morning twilight.
Bright Jupiter and Mars Before Sunrise
Bright Jupiter and Mars are in the eastern sky before sunrise. At one hour before sunrise, bright Jupiter is 15° above the east horizon. It slowly rambles eastward in front of Cancer. It is nearly 15° to Regulus’ upper right, Leo’s brightest star. Use a binocular to find the star and the Sickle of Leo, a dozen stars making a backwards question mark or sickle shape.
Mars is nearly 45° above the east horizon, over 25° to Jupiter’s upper right. It marches eastward in front of Gemini, 9.4° to Castor’s lower right, one of the Twins. Mars passes the star in a wide conjunction tomorrow. Pollux is 7.0° to the lower left. Mars passes that star on September 17.
Mars appears to move eastward faster than Jupiter. It overtakes the Jovian Giant on November 17.
Look for brilliant Venus after sunset, Saturn nearly all night, and Jupiter and Mars before sunrise.
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