2021, March 14: Morning Planets, Jupiter, Saturn

March 14, 2021: Jupiter and Saturn are low in the southeastern sky before sunrise.  Look for them about 45 minutes before sunrise.

by Jeffrey L. Hunt

Chicago, Illinois:  Sunrise, 7:04 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 6:57 p.m. CDT.  Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times for your location.

Daylight Saving Time began for most of the USA and Canada during the night.  Our clocks are now one hour ahead of the sun and astronomy.  This shifts some of the excess daylight until evening hours.  During late May, June, and early July, there is considerable sunshine during the morning hours as well.

While the clock time changed, the time intervals for the observations remain the same. 

Forty-five minutes before sunrise, Saturn and Jupiter are low in the southeastern sky.  Jupiter is the brighter of the pair, but it is lower.

At this hour, Saturn is over 9° in altitude.  Jupiter is 9.7° to the lower left of Saturn, but it is only 5° up in the sky.

Detailed Note: Daylight Saving Time begins at 2 a.m. CST when the clocks are advanced to 3 a.m. CDT.  The time interval in these notes remain the same.  Forty-five minutes before sunrise, Saturn and Jupiter are low in the southeastern sky.  Saturn is over 9° in altitude and brighter Jupiter is over 5° up in the sky, 9.7° to the lower left of Saturn.  Thirty minutes after sunset, the thin crescent moon (1.6d, 2%) is about 9° above the western horizon. As the sky darkens further, over 55° in altitude in the west-southwest, Mars is below a line that connects Aldebaran and extends through Epsilon Tauri (ε Tau, m = 3.5).  Tomorrow, Mars is on that line. Mars continues its eastward march.  This evening, use a binocular to locate κ Tau and υ Tau, to the upper left of Mars.  Mars is 2.2° and 2.4° to the lower right of the stars, respectively.

Read more about the planets during March 2021.