2024, March 5: Winter Cooked Moon

March 5, 2024: The winter cooked moon is visible before sunrise in front of the Teapot of Sagittarius.  Bright Jupiter is easily visible after sundown.

A comparison of Venus, Earth, Moon and Mars. (NASA)
Chart Caption – A comparison of Venus, Earth, Moon and Mars. (NASA)

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by Jeffrey L. Hunt

Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 6:18 a.m. CST; Sunset, 5:46 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:

Three Bright Planets Difficult to See

Three bright planets are a challenge to see.  They are near the sun and lost in its bright light. Saturn, about a week after its solar conjunction, rises only a few minutes before the sun.  Similarly, dim Mars rises 65 minutes before the sun, but it is difficult to see in bright twilight.  At thirty minutes before sunrise, a binocular helps find the Red Planet, 5.6° to the upper right of brilliant Venus and over 5° above the east-southeast horizon.

The challenge is to see Mars in a darker sky and to see Venus high enough to use as a reference.  This is a balancing act of morning twilight and finding Venus.

Mercury is quickly appearing in the western evening sky after sunset.  This evening it sets 28 minutes after the sun.  It is bright, but lost in the bright twilight after sundown.

Morning Sky

Winter Cooked Moon

Winter Cooked Moon
Chart Caption – 2024, March 5: An hour after sundown, Jupiter is less than halfway above the west-northwest horizon. It is east of an imaginary line from Hamal to Menkar.

An hour before sunrise, the crescent moon, 31% illuminated, is nearly 15° above the south-southeast horizon.  The lunar orb appears in front of the Teapot of Sagittarius, a modern moniker for the Archer’s brighter stars.  The moon appears inside the pot as if it is cooked by the vessel’s imaginary steam.

The moon is bright enough to illuminate the terrestrial landscape and cast shadows.  During the next few mornings look for earthshine on the moon’s surface between the moon’s cusps or horns.  This effect is reflected sunlight from Earth’s features.

The lunar slice rises about three hours before sunrise.  Early risers can watch the moon appear above the horizon before morning twilight and then marvel at the changing hues of approaching daybreak.

Venus

Venus rises 51 minutes before sunrise.  By 25 minutes before sunup, Venus is nearly 5° above the east-southeast horizon. It is bright enough to see without optical assistance from a vantage point with a clear, unobstructed horizon. At this light level through a binocular, Mars might be visible to Venus’ upper right.

Evening Sky

Jupiter

2024, March 5: Before sunrise, the crescent moon appears to be cooked in the imaginary steam of the teapot.
Chart Caption – 2024, March 5: Before sunrise, the crescent moon appears to be cooked in the imaginary steam of the teapot.

An hour after sundown, bright Jupiter is less than halfway up in the west-southwest.  It is brighter than all the stars in the sky this evening.  The planet is moving slowly eastward in front of Aries, 11.6° to the lower left of the star Hamal and 11.9° to the upper right of Menkar.  The planet is east or above an imaginary line between the two stars.

Use a binocular to look for at least four of Jupiter’s largest moons.  With the optical assist, explore the Pleiades and Hyades star clusters that are above the Jovian Giant.

Jupiter sets earlier each evening.  Tonight, it sets before midnight and less than five hours after sundown.

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