August 19, 2023: The moon is easily seen in the western sky after sundown. Through a telescope, a distant star plays an imitation moon of Jupiter.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 6:03 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 7:44 p.m. CDT. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program.
Summaries of Current Sky Events
SUMMARY FOR VENUS AS AN EVENING STAR
Here is today’s planet forecast:
Morning Sky
An hour before sunrise, bright Jupiter is in the southeastern sky. It seems to be leading a contingent of bright stars westward. Jupiter is to the right of the Pleiades star cluster while it appears to the upper right of Aldebaran and the Hyades star cluster. Jupiter is moving eastward in front of Aries, 13.3° to the lower left of Hamal, meaning “the full-grown lamb,” and 11.3° to the upper left of Menkar, Cetus’ nostril.
Through a telescope, the star Sigma Arietis (σ Ari on the chart) appears in line with the four other large moons, known as the Galilean satellites. The star seems to imitate a fifth large moon. See yesterday’s article for more details.
At this hour, Saturn is less than 20° up in the southwest. It is retrograding – the illusion of moving westward against the distant starfield – in front of Aquarius, 8.0° to the right of Skat, the Aquarian’s leg, and 7.6° to the lower right of Lambda Aquarii (λ Aqr). This trio nearly forms and equilateral triangle.
In a few days, Fomalhaut, the mouth of the Southern Fish, is too low to be seen at this time interval. This morning it is nearly 20° to the lower left of Saturn and less than 10° above the horizon.
Venus is racing into the morning sky, today rising twenty-seven minutes before the sun.
In the accompanying image from 2020, Venus was nearly 20° from the sun and appeared above the eastern horizon nearly an hour before the sun. This morning Venus is nearly 12° from the sun and theoretically visible from a location with a clear view at the horizon.
The first easy view, resembling the scene in the image occurs in three days when Venus rises forty-nine minutes before the sun, when the planet is about 3° above the eastern horizon at 30 minutes before daybreak.
Evening Sky
Mercury is overtaking our planet, passing between our world and the sun on September 6th and then an appearance in the morning sky. After last night’s appearance with the crescent moon,
Mars is lost in bright evening twilight, setting over seventy minutes after sundown.
An hour after sunset, the evening crescent moon, 12% illuminated, is less than 10° above the western horizon. It is in front of Virgo, 4.3° to the lower right of Porrima, also known as Gamma Virginis, and nearly 20° to the lower right of Spica, the constellation’s brightest star.
Look for earthshine on the moon between the lunar cusps or horns that is nighttime on the moon. This gentle illumination is sunlight reflected from Earth’s oceans, clouds, and land. It is similar to moonlight softly lighting up terrestrial features. This begins when the phase is more that 30% lit.
Saturn nears its opposition date, when it rises at sunset. This evening the Ringed Wonder peeks above the horizon twenty minutes after nightfall. By two hours after sunset, it is over 15° above the east-southeast horizon. Skat and Lambda Aquarii are nearby.
During the night the planet appears farther westward. Less than three hours after Saturn rises, before midnight at most locations.
Jupiter rises in the eastern sky. By tomorrow morning, the Jovian Giant is high in the southeast.
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