January 27, 2024: A Mercury-Mars conjunction occurs during bright morning twilight. Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn are visible during the night.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 7:08 a.m. CST; Sunset, 4:59 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
Moon, Regulus
An hour before daybreak, the bright gibbous moon, 97% illuminated, is over 20° up in the western sky. It is 4.9° to the right of Regulus, Leo’s brightest star. To see the star, block the moon with your hand as you would to shield your eyes from the sun’s glare.
The moon is approaching the star Eta Leonis (η Leo on the chart). The lunar orb occults or eclipses the star from southwest Australia in a few hours.
Venus
Venus, Mercury, and Mars are in the southeastern sky this morning. Begin with the Morning Star that is about 10° above the horizon at 45 minutes before sunrise. It rises less than two hours before the sun.
Venus is stepping eastward in front of Sagittarius. This morning it is 3.4° above Kaus Borealis, meaning “the northern part of the bow” of the Archer. Use a binocular to see the star with the planet.
Kaus Borealis dots the top of the Teapot of Sagittarius, a modern moniker for the brighter stars in the constellation.
Mercury-Mars Conjunction
This morning Mercury passes Mars in the close conjunction. The separation is only 0.3° and they easily fit into the same binocular field of view. This conjunction occurs in bright twilight and it is out of the same binocular field of view with Venus.
At thirty minutes before daybreak, Mercury is nearly 5° above the horizon and above dimmer Mars. The planets look close together in the sky, but the gap between them is over 100 million miles, larger than Earth’s distance from the sun.
Mercury is moving into bright sunlight as it approaches its superior conjunction with the sun on February 28. Mars continues its slow emergence from bright twilight after its solar conjunction over two months ago. Venus passes the Red Planet on February 22nd.
The next Mercury-Mars conjunction occurs October 19, 2025 in the western sky during bright evening twilight.
Evening Sky
Jupiter
An hour after sundown, bright Jupiter is high in the southern sky. It ambles eastward in front of Aries, 11.1° to the lower left of Hamal, the Ram’s brightest star, and 13.9° to the upper right of Menkar, Cetus’ nostril.
While Jupiter’s motion against a distant starfield is slow, it can be tracked. After its retrograde ended on December 30, the planet is picking up eastward speed against the stars and it is approaching an imaginary line from Hamal to Menkar.
Through a telescope, Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is at the center of the planet in the southern hemisphere at 11:29 p.m. CST. The planet is less than 15° above the western horizon in America’s Central Time Zone.
Saturn
After sunset, Saturn is less than 15° up in the west-southwest. It is setting earlier compared to sunset each evening. This evening it sets less than two hours after nightfall.
Evening Moon, Regulus
The moon, 95% illuminated, rises two hours after sundown. An hour later the lunar disk is about 10° up in the east and 4.9° to the lower left of Regulus. It appears farther westward during the night. Tomorrow morning it is in the west-southwest.