Jupiter appears in the western sky this evening. It appears lower in the sky each evening as it is heading toward its solar conjunction. It appears near Spica, but the star is hidden by the trees in the image above. Spica is about 7 degrees to the lower left of Jupiter this evening. Jupiter is heading toward its final conjunction with Spica in this triple conjunction appearance.
Meanwhile, Saturn — the Ringed Wonder — is in the southern sky. It is about 13 degrees to the upper left of the star Antares.
Jupiter is slowly moving toward Saturn for a 2020 conjunction. Tonight the pair is over 60 degrees apart. Conjunctions of Jupiter and Saturn are uncommon. They occur in intervals of about 20 years. During the 2020 conjunction the two planets appear about 0.1 degree apart on December 21.
For more information about sky watching events:
- 2017, August 21: Chicago’s View of the Great American Solar Eclipse
- 2017, October 5: Venus-Mars Conjunction
- 2017, November 13: Venus-Jupiter Epoch Conjunction
- 2017 Evening Planets
- 2017 Morning Planets
- Venus as a Morning Star, 2017
- Chart and Image Collection
- Jupiter’s Year with Spica: A Triple Conjunction
- 2018: Mars Perihelic Opposition
- 2017-2019: Mars Observing Year with a Perihelic Opposition, July 27, 2018