October 13-15, 2021: The waxing gibbous moon passes the bright evening planets, Saturn and Jupiter. Look for them in the south-southeast after sunset.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
The waxing gibbous moon passes Saturn and Jupiter on the evenings of October 13-15. Step outside about an hour after sunset.
The moon is near the planets on these three evenings. Jupiter is the bright “star” in the south-southeast after sunset. Saturn is dimmer, over 15° to the upper right of the Jovian Giant.
On October 13, the moon is 60% illuminated, bright enough to cast shadows on the ground. Saturn is 6.8° to the upper left of the lunar orb.
On the evening of October 14, the waxing moon is 60% illuminated and brighter in the sky than last night. The moon is nearly equally-spaced below the two planets. Saturn is 9.8° to the moon’s upper right, while Jupiter is 8.3° to the upper left.
The moon on October 15 is nearly 80% illuminated. It is about 20° above the east-southeast horizon. Jupiter is 8.0° to the upper right of the brightening moon.
RECENT PODCASTS
LATEST ARTICLES
- 2023, October 22: Moon Approaches SaturnOctober 22, 2023: During evening hours, the gibbous moon nears Saturn in the southern sky. Venus and Jupiter are visible during morning twilight.
- 2023, October 21: Three Bright Planets, First Quarter MoonOctober 21, 2023: Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn are easy to locate during nighttime hours. The First Quarter moon phase occurs this evening.
- 2023, October 20: Jupiter’s Double Shadows, Mercury at Superior ConjunctionOctober 20: After midnight, Jupiter’s moons’ shadows dance across the cloud tops. Mercury is at superior conjunction.
- 2023, October 19: Poured Moon, See Planet UranusOctober 19: Sagittarius seems to pour the moon into the sky this evening. Find Uranus with a binocular.
- 2023, October 18: Moon-Antares Conjunction, Bright PlanetsOctober 18, 2023: The moon is near Antares after sunset. Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn are in the sky during the nighttime hours.