Jupiter and Saturn shine brightly in the southern skies before midnight.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Bright Jupiter and Saturn shine from the southern skies before midnight. They appear low in the southeast as the sky darkens after sunset.
The brightest planets appear as overly bright stars in our sky. They rise in the east and set in the west each day along with the other stars, sun, and moon.
As the planets revolve around the sun, they move slightly eastward as compared to the starry background.
There are times when our faster moving planet approaches, passes, and moves away from the planets outside Earth’s orbit. These outer planets seem to move westward compared to the background of stars. This retrograde motion is an illusion.
The planets’ retrograde motions are displayed before and after the outer planets are at opposition, when Earth is between the sun and the planet. At this time, the planets are near their closest points to Earth. The sun and planets are in opposite directions in the sky. The distant worlds shine brightly in our sky all night.
Jupiter was at opposition on July 13 and Saturn followed a week later. Mars is approaching its opposition on October 13, 2020. It is closest to Earth a week earlier.
Jupiter and Saturn are retrograding. Jupiter’s retrograde ends September 12 and Saturn, September 28. Mars begins to retrograde September 9. It is the bright star high in the south before sunrise. (Venus is “that brilliant star in the east” as the morning twilight brightens.)
Watch Jupiter and Saturn continue to retrograde. On the image above, Jupiter is 2.4° to the lower left of Pi Sagittarii (π Sgr) and 2.2° to the lower right of 50 Sagittarii (50 Sgr). For the next few weeks, watch Jupiter move closer to π Sgr and farther from 50 Sgr.
Saturn is 2.0° to the lower left of 56 Sagittarii (56 Sgr). Watch it move beneath the star before its retrograde ends at the end of September.
Look for Venus and Mars in the morning before sunrise.
Over a week after its first appearance (heliacal rising) in the morning sky, Sirius, the night’s brightest star, shines from the east-southeast nearly 45 minutes before sunrise.
Here is a daily summary about the planets during August.
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October 19: Sagittarius seems to pour the moon into the sky this evening. Find Uranus with a binocular. - 2023, October 18: Moon-Antares Conjunction, Bright Planets
October 18, 2023: The moon is near Antares after sunset. Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn are in the sky during the nighttime hours. - 2023, October 17: Scorpion Moon
October 17, 2023: The crescent moon is with Scorpius during evening twilight. Venus and Jupiter gleam from the predawn sky. - 2023, October 16: Venus in Starry Conjunction
October 16, 2023: Venus passes a star in Leo before sunrise. A crescent moon is low in the western sky during evening twilight.
