2024, January 30: Venus Moves through Sagittarius

Astronomy, Sky Watching

January 30, 2024: Venus moves through Sagittarius before sunrise.  Bright Jupiter and Saturn are visible after sundown.

Mercury and Venus before sunup, January 28, 2016.
Photo Caption – 2016, January 28: Venus and Mercury before sunrise in the eastern sky.

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by Jeffrey L. Hunt

Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 7:05 a.m. CST; Sunset, 5:03 p.m. CST.  Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program.

Daylight’s length approaches ten hours, gaining fifty minutes since the winter solstice.

Summaries of Current Sky Events
Summary for Venus as a Morning Star, 2023-24

Here is today’s planet forecast:

Morning Sky

Morning Moon

2024, January 30: The moon is in the western sky before sunrise.
Chart Caption – 2024, January 30: The moon is in the western sky before sunrise.

An hour before sunrise, the bright gibbous moon, 81% illuminated, is over 30° up in the southwestern sky.  It stands in front of Virgo’s stars.  The constellation’s brightest star, Spica, is over 20° to the left of the lunar orb, while Denebola, the Lion’s tail, is over 15° to the upper right.

The star pattern Corvus the Crow, is to the lower left of the moon.

Venus Moves through Sagittarius

Venus moves through Sagittarius - 2024, January 30: Forty-five minutes before sunrise, Venus is in the southeast to the upper left of Sagittarius’ Kaus Borealis.
Chart Caption – 2024, January 30: Forty-five minutes before sunrise, Venus is in the southeast to the upper left of Sagittarius’ Kaus Borealis.

Brilliant Venus is low in the southeast at this hour.  Fifteen minutes later the Morning Star is nearly 10° above the horizon.  Rising less than two hours before daybreak, the planet moves eastward in front of Sagittarius, 3.6° to the upper left of Kaus Borealis, also known as Lambda Sagittarii.  They fit into the same binocular field of view.

Mercury and Mars

Mercury retreats into bright sunlight.  While it is bright, the planet is a few degrees above the horizon at thirty minutes before sunrise.  It is moving toward its solar conjunction on the far side of the sun, known as superior conjunction, on February 28th.  During late March, the planet appears in the western sky after nightfall for its best evening appearance of the year.

Mars continues a very slow climb into the eastern morning sky.  Rising over an hour before daybreak, the planet hides in bright twilight.  A few mornings ago, Mercury passed closely and the pair was visible through a binocular.  The Red Planet can be found at thirty minutes before sunrise, but the observation is challenging.  Beginning February 7th, Mars and Venus appear in the same binocular field leading up to their conjunction on the 22nd.

Evening Sky

Bright Jupiter

2024, January 30: An hour after sunset, bright Jupiter is high in the southern sky.
Chart Caption – 2024, January 30: An hour after sunset, bright Jupiter is high in the southern sky.

With the bright stars of the Orion region of the sky dominating the east, bright Jupiter is high in the sky an hour after sundown.  The Jovian Giant slowly, but noticeably, moves eastward against distant Aries, 11.2° to the lower left of Hamal, the pattern’s brightest star, and 13.7° to the upper right of Menkar, Cetus’ nostril.  The planet is approaching an imaginary line between the two stars.

Saturn

2024, January 30: Saturn is low in the west-southwest after sundown.
Chart Caption – 2024, January 30: Saturn is low in the west-southwest after sundown.

At this hour, Saturn is low in the west-southwest, over 10° above the horizon.  It moves slowly eastward against Aquarius, 7.2° to the right of Skat, the Aquarian’s leg, and 5.7° to the lower right of Lambda Aquarii (λ Aqr on the chart).

The Ringed Wonder sets over two hours after sundown, but disappears behind the haze of Earth’s atmosphere that blurs and dims celestial bodies about an hour before it sets.

Moon before Midnight

2024, January 30: Near midnight, the moon is low in the east-southeast, to the lower right of Porrima, part of Virgo.
Chart Caption – 2024, January 30: Near midnight, the moon is low in the east-southeast, to the lower right of Porrima, part of Virgo.

The moon rises later, over five hours after the sun sets.  As the midnight hour approaches, the gibbous moon, 75% illuminated is about 15° above the east-southeast horizon, 2.6° to the lower right of Porrima, also known as Gamma Virginis.

Bright Arcturus is in the east-northeast, to the left of the lunar orb.

Jupiter sets in the west-northwest after midnight, while the moon approaches Spica in the southwest before sunup.

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