Objects in your sky: Planets

by Dominic Ford

The visibility of the planets on

From location

South El Monte
Rise18:55
Set04:13

The Moon is 13 days old, waxing gibbous, and is approaching full moon. From South El Monte, it is visible in the evening sky, becoming accessible around 20:23 (PDT), 12° above your south-eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. It will then reach its highest point in the sky at 23:34, 25° above your southern horizon. It will continue to be observable until around 03:22, when it sinks below -3° above your south-western horizon.

02 Jul 2025  –  Moon at First Quarter
10 Jul 2025  –  Full Moon
17 Jul 2025  –  Moon at Last Quarter
24 Jul 2025  –  New Moon
Rise07:51
Set21:28

Mercury is visible as an evening object, having recently passed greatest elongation east. From South El Monte, however, it is not observable – it will reach its highest point in the sky during daytime and is no higher than 8° above the horizon at dusk.

Rise03:00
Set16:50

Venus is visible as a morning object, having recently passed greatest elongation west. From South El Monte, it is visible in the dawn sky, rising at 02:58 (PDT) – 2 hours and 47 minutes before the Sun – and reaching an altitude of 29° above the eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at around 05:27.

Rise10:13
Set23:02

Mars is currently an early evening object, now receding into evening twilight. From South El Monte, it will become visible at around 20:52 (PDT), 25° above your western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. It will then sink towards the horizon, setting 2 hours and 55 minutes after the Sun at 23:01.

23 Feb 2025  –  Mars ends retrograde motion
10 Jan 2027  –  Mars enters retrograde motion
19 Feb 2027  –  Mars at opposition
19 Feb 2027  –  Mars at perigee
Rise05:00
Set19:21

Jupiter recently passed behind the Sun at solar conjunction. From South El Monte, it is not observable – it will reach its highest point in the sky during daytime and is no higher than 4° above the horizon at dawn.

04 Feb 2025  –  Jupiter ends retrograde motion
11 Nov 2025  –  Jupiter enters retrograde motion
10 Jan 2026  –  Jupiter at opposition
10 Mar 2026  –  Jupiter ends retrograde motion
Rise23:55
Set11:53

Saturn is currently emerging from behind the Sun. From South El Monte, it is visible in the dawn sky, rising at 23:55 (PDT) and reaching an altitude of 52° above the southern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at around 05:07.

05 May 2025  –  Equinox on Saturn
12 Jul 2025  –  Saturn enters retrograde motion
20 Sep 2025  –  Saturn at opposition
27 Nov 2025  –  Saturn ends retrograde motion
Rise02:35
Set16:34

Uranus recently passed behind the Sun at solar conjunction. From South El Monte, however, it is visible in the dawn sky, rising at 02:35 (PDT) – 3 hours and 10 minutes before the Sun – and reaching an altitude of 22° above the eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at around 04:34.

30 Jan 2025  –  Uranus ends retrograde motion
05 Sep 2025  –  Uranus enters retrograde motion
21 Nov 2025  –  Uranus at opposition
03 Feb 2026  –  Uranus ends retrograde motion
Rise23:52
Set11:55

Neptune is currently emerging from behind the Sun. From South El Monte, it is visible in the dawn sky, rising at 23:52 (PDT) and reaching an altitude of 50° above the south-eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at around 04:34.

04 Jul 2025  –  Neptune enters retrograde motion
23 Sep 2025  –  Neptune at opposition
10 Dec 2025  –  Neptune ends retrograde motion
07 Jul 2026  –  Neptune enters retrograde motion

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