November 12, 2023: Venus moves noticeably eastward each morning against Virgo’s stars. Jupiter and Saturn are easily visible after nightfall.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 6:36 a.m. CST; Sunset, 4:33 p.m. CST. 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
Brilliant Venus shines from the east-southeast during morning twilight. The planet rises nearly four hours before sunrise and it stands 30° above the horizon an hour before daybreak.
The Morning Star’s eastward dance is visible from morning to morning. It is less than 20° to the upper right of Spica, Virgo’s brightest star. Venus passes the star in a wide conjunction on the 29th. Beginning the 22nd, the Venus-Spica gap is less than 10° and closes each morning.
This morning Venus is 0.7° to the upper right of Zaniah. The planet passes the star tomorrow. Use a binocular to watch Venus move against the distant stars.
Evening Sky
Mercury and Mars are not visible. Mercury is moving toward its evening greatest elongation, setting over 30 minutes after the sun. It is not easily visible.
Mars nears its solar conjunction, setting only five minutes after the sun.
Jupiter and Saturn are in the evening sky. One hour after sundown, bright Jupiter is over 15° up in the eastern sky. The planet is nearly thirty times brighter than Saturn. It retrogrades in front of Aries, 11.4° to the lower right of Hamal, the Ram’s brightest star.
Through a telescope, at 8:37 p.m. CST, the planet’s Great Red Spot, a long-lived atmospheric disturbance, is visible at the center of the planet in the southern hemisphere.
Saturn is over 30° up in the south-southeast, over 20° to the upper right of Fomalhaut, the mouth of the Southern Fish. The Ringed Wonder is in front of Aquarius’ dim starfield, slowly crawling eastward toward Skat, the Aquarian’s leg, and Lambda Aquarii (λ Aqr on the chart). The planet is 6.8° to the upper left of Deneb Algedi, Capricornus’ tail. Saturn and this star are in the same binocular field of view.
During the night, Jupiter and Saturn are farther westward. Saturn is south two hours after sunset and it sets in the west-southwest around midnight. Jupiter is south before midnight, setting in the west-northwest nearly fifty minutes before sunrise.
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