Saturn becomes a Morning Planet with Venus and Jupiter. Saturn and Venus appear with the star Spica (Virgo) at 5:45 a.m. CST in the southeastern sky as seen from the Chicago area. Saturn passed behind the sun (conjunction) on October 25 and slowly moves into the morning sky. Venus moves to the east among the stars faster than Saturn. This morning the pair is about 5 degrees apart this; Venus passes Saturn within about 1 degree on November 27.
Jupiter appears in the western sky nearly 140 degrees from Venus. Jupiter appears in front of the stars of Taurus as seen in the image above made at 5:40 a.m. CST. The constellation’s brightest star, Aldebaran, appears near the giant planet as the bull’s horn’s, Zeta Tauri and Elnath, appear above Jupiter. Betelgeuse (Orion) and Capella (Auriga) appear in the scene as well.
For our monthly sky watching posting, click here. Watch the planetary pair in the morning sky throughout the next several months. Read more about Venus as a Morning Star. (Click the images to see them larger.)