2024, March 7: Venus, Mars, and Crescent Moon Gather

March 7, 2024: Venus, Mars, and crescent Moon gather together in bright twilight before sunrise. Bright Jupiter is visible after sundown nearing Uranus.

2023, July 9: Venus, Mars, Regulus make the most compact gathering until 2053.
Photo Caption – 2023, July 9: Venus, Mars, Regulus make the most compact gathering until 2053.

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by Jeffrey L. Hunt

Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 6:15 a.m. CST; Sunset, 5:49 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

Venus, Mars, and Crescent Moon Gather

2024, March 7: In a challenging view, Venus, Mars, and the crescent moon appear low in the southeastern sky before sunrise.
Chart Caption – 2024, March 7: In a challenging view, Venus, Mars, and the crescent moon appear low in the southeastern sky before sunrise.

While articles here predicted a few days ago that Venus and Mars are no longer visible at the same time, this morning’s gathering is worth another look to spot the two planets and the moon at the same time.

Before sunrise, look for the bunching of Venus, Mars, and the crescent moon during bright twilight.  While Mars is challenging to see at this level of twilight, attempt to find it through a binocular.

At thirty minutes before daybreak, the crescent moon, 12% illuminated, is over 5° above the southeast horizon.  Look for it with a binocular.  Can you see it without the optical assist?

Brilliant Venus is less than 5° above the east-southeast horizon, less than 20° to the lower left of the lunar crescent.

Place Venus to the lower left edge of the binocular field.  If the sky is exceptionally clear, Mars is 6.4° to the upper right near the edge of the field.

Saturn is in bright sunlight and not visible at this hour.

Evening Sky

Mercury is racing into the western sky for its best evening appearance of the year.  This evening, the planet sets 37 minutes after the sun, not late enough for easy visibility.  It appears after sunset in about a week.

Jupiter

Venus, Mars, and Crescent Moon Gather
Chart Caption – 2024, March 7: After sundown, bright Jupiter is in the west-southwest after nightfall.

In comparison to this morning’s gathering, bright Jupiter stands less than halfway up in the west-southwest at one hour after sundown.  It is the lone bright planet in the evening sky.  Moving eastward in front of Aries, the planet is east or above a line from Hamal, the Ram’s brightest star, to Menkar, Cetus’ nostril.

Find Planet Uranus

2024, March 7: Use a binocular to spot planet Uranus to the upper left of Jupiter.
Chart Caption – 2024, March 7: Use a binocular to spot planet Uranus to the upper left of Jupiter.

As Jupiter ambles eastward, it appears to close a gap to planet Uranus.  This evening the Jovian Giant is 7.3° to the lower right of the more-distant world.  During the next several days the gap closes more and the pair fits into the same binocular field of view.

Tonight begin the search, but putting both planets in the same field is not easy. If they fit into your binocular the fit is tight.  Use the accompanying chart.  Place Jupiter at the center of the field of view.  Find the stars Pi (π Ari on the chart) and Sigma (σ Ari) in Aries toward the top of the field of view.  Move the binocular upward slightly so that Jupiter leaves the field with Pi and Sigma toward the bottom right.  Then find Rho (ρ Ari) inside a dimmer triangle of three stars.

If you have made it this far, the star 53 (53 Ari), slightly dimmer than Uranus, is above the center of the field, with the planet to its lower left.  Uranus appears as an aquamarine star.  A telescope with high magnification is needed to see it as a globe. Look through a binocular for Jupiter and Uranus during the next several evenings until the evening moon becomes too bright to see the starfield. 

Jupiter sets in the west-northwest less than five hours after sunset and before midnight.

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