January 28, 2024: Spot five planets and the moon during the nighttime hours. Venus, Mercury and Mars shine before sunrise. See Jupiter and Saturn after sundown.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 7:07 a.m. CST; Sunset, 5:00 p.m. CST. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program.
Sunset occurs today at 5 p.m. in Chicago. After today, the sun leaves the sky later than this time. On June 21st, the summer solstice occurs at 8:30 p.m. Central Daylight Time.
What follows seems confusing. The sun does not set before 5 p.m. again until October 21st. However, daylight time is in effect, so the clock reads 5:59 p.m. Central Daylight Time. When the clocks revert to standard time on November 3rd, sunset is 4:42 p.m. Central Standard Time.
Summaries of Current Sky Events
Summary for Venus as a Morning Star, 2023-24
Here is today’s planet forecast:
Morning Sky
Morning Moon
During morning twilight, the waning gibbous moon, 93% illuminated, is nearly 30° up in the western sky, 8.1° to the upper left of Regulus, Leo’s brightest star.
Venus
At forty-five minutes before sunrise, brilliant Venus is 10° above the southeast horizon. Stepping eastward in front of Sagittarius, the planet is 2.9° to the upper left of Kaus Borealis, the northern part of the Archer’s bow. In modern perceptions of Sagittarius, the star is at the top of the lid of the Teapot.
Venus passes 3.0° to the upper left of the star this morning. Use a binocular to see Venus and the star.
Mercury, Mars
After yesterday’s close Mercury-Mars conjunction, the planets are still close together. The gap between them is 0.6°, easily fitting into a binocular field of view. At thirty minutes before sunrise, Mercury is less than 5° above the southeast horizon. It is to the lower left of dimmer Mars. This is not an easy observation.
Mercury is moving toward a conjunction with the sun in about a month, while Mars continues to slowly emerge from bright twilight.
Evening Sky
Jupiter
As the sky darkens, bright Jupiter is high in the south. Moving eastward in front of Aries, 11.1° to the lower left of Hamal, Aries’ brightest star, and 13.8° to the upper right of Menkar. Every clear night, note the planet’s position compared to the starfield. The Jovian Giant sets in the west-northwest, shortly after the new calendar day begins.
Saturn
Saturn is farther westward, over 10° above the west-southwest horizon. It is moving eastward in front of Aquarius, 7.3° to the right of Skat, the Aquarian’s leg, and 5.9° to the lower right of Lambda Aquarii (λ Aqr on the chart).
The planet separately fits into a binocular field of view with each star, although Saturn and Skat fit tightly at nearly opposite edges of the field.
Evening Moon
The moon, 90% illuminated, rises three hours after sundown. An hour later, the lunar orb is 10° up in the east. It is 11.2° to the upper right of Denebola, the Lion’s tail, and over 15° to the lower left of Regulus.
The moon appears farther westward during the night. Tomorrow morning during twilight, it is in the west-southwest.
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