2023, October 28: Jupiter Dances with the Hunter’s Moon

October 28, 2023: Jupiter is visible with the Hunter’s moon before sunrise and after sunset.  Brilliant Venus is in brilliant star in the east before sunrise.

Lunar Eclipse, May 15, 2022.
Photo Caption – Lunar Eclipse, May 15, 2022.

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by Jeffrey L. Hunt

Chicago, Illinois:  Sunrise, 7:18 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 5:50 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 a Morning Star, 2023-24

Here is today’s planet forecast:

Morning Sky

2023, October 28: Jupiter and the bright moon are in the western sky before sunrise.
Chart Caption – 2023, October 28: Jupiter and the bright moon are in the western sky before sunrise.

An hour before sunrise, the nearly-full moon is less than 10° up in the west and 12.5° to the lower right of bright Jupiter.  The lunar orb reaches the precise Full moon moment at 3:24 p.m. CDT, nearly two hours before it rises in Chicago.

When the moon is at this illumination, it is 180° from the sun in the sky.  Earth is between the sun and our satellite body.  The moon can pass through Earth’s shadow.

A lunar eclipse
Lunar Eclipse (NASA Photo)

That occurs today when over 10% of the moon is eclipsed.  At 3:14 p.m. CDT, the eclipse is at its maximum over the eastern hemisphere.  The moon is overhead near Yemen’s southern coastline.  The event is visible from Europe, Africa, most of Asia, and western Australia.  None of the eclipse is visible from North America, except for the ending moments in far eastern Canada.

With this morning’s bright moonlight, the dimmer stars are difficult to see.  Use a binocular to spot Hamal, Aries brightest star, 11.8° to the right of Jupiter, and Menkar, part of Cetus, 11.6° to the left.

Jupiter’s retrograde motion against the starfield is demonstrated for 2023.
Chart Caption – Jupiter’s retrograde motion against the starfield is demonstrated for 2023.

Jupiter is retrograding as its opposition approaches on November 3rd.  It appears to be moving between the two stars.

2023, October 28: Brilliant Venus is near Leo’s bright stars before daybreak.
Chart Caption – 2023, October 28: Brilliant Venus is near Leo’s bright stars before daybreak.

Venus, over 30° up in the east-southeast, steps eastward in front of Leo, although the dimmer stars are a challenge to see it in this moonlight.  This morning, the Morning Star is over 18° to the lower left of Regulus, Leo’s brightest star, and over 12° to the lower right of Denebola, the Lion’s tail.

Evening Sky

Mercury as Never Seen Before
Photo Caption – Mercury as Never Seen Before. (NASA photo)

Mercury and Mars are not visible. Mercury sets in bright twilight only thirteen minutes after the sun and five minutes before Mars.

2023, October 28: After sundown, Jupiter and the Hunter’s moon are in the eastern sky.
Chart Caption – 2023, October 28: After sundown, Jupiter and the Hunter’s moon are in the eastern sky.

An hour after sundown, the bright Hunter’s moon, October’s seasonal moon, is over 10° up in the eastern sky, and 3.9° to the upper left of bright Jupiter.  Watch the pair move across the sky together during the night. 

Shortly after 1 a.m. CDT tomorrow, the moon passes 2.6° to the upper right of the planet. At that time, they are high in the south-southwestern sky.

2023, October 28: As night falls, Saturn and Fomalhaut are in the south-southeast.
Chart Caption – 2023, October 28: As night falls, Saturn and Fomalhaut are in the south-southeast.

Earlier during the night, Saturn is over 30° up in the south-southeast.  Not as bright as Jupiter, the Ringed Wonder is one of the brightest starlike bodies in the sky this evening.  It stands over 20° above the star Fomalhaut, the mouth of the Southern Fish.  During the night it appears farther westward, setting a few hours after midnight, and long before Venus rises.

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