2024, March 9: Spot Jupiter and Planet Uranus through a Binocular

Astronomy, Sky Watching

March 9, 2024: After sundown spot Jupiter and planet Uranus through a binocular.  A total solar eclipse occurs in a month.

Brilliant Venus in west, March 6, 2020
2020, March 6: Brilliant Venus continues to approach Uranus.

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by Jeffrey L. Hunt

Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 6:12 a.m. CST; Sunset, 5:51 p.m. CST.  Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program.

Standard Time Ending

2023, February 11: Venus and Jupiter in the west-southwest after sundown.
Photo Caption – 2023, February 11: Venus and Jupiter in the west-southwest after sundown.

As the equinox approaches on the 19th, this is the last day of standard time until November 3rd across many US states and Canadian provinces.  Clocks shift one hour ahead tomorrow at 2 a.m. local time.

Daylight at Chicago’s latitude is 11 hours, 39 minutes long.  Tomorrow, with the shift of one hour in the clock, daylight gains three minutes.

The New moon phase occurs tomorrow at 4 a.m. CDT, beginning lunation 1252, the number of lunar cycles since the count began in 1923.

April 8, 2024 Solar Eclipse

Solar Eclipse 2017
2017: Great American Solar Eclipse – The corona is visible.

A Great American Solar Eclipse occurs at the next New moon on April 8th.  The moon’s shadow first touches Earth’s surface in the South Pacific and races eastward.  It reaches southwest Mexico, racing northeast toward Texas.  The total eclipse shadow crosses the US mid-section near many populated areas.  It moves across southeast Canda and the Maritime provinces and across the North Atlantic where it leaves the planet.

This eclipse likely provides the largest mass migration for an event of this type because the eclipse shadow crosses the surface at or near major cities such as San Antonio, Dallas, Memphis, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Buffalo, and Montreal with major transportation hubs and highway systems.

In southern Illinois, the eclipse briefly passes over the same territory as the 2017 solar eclipse.  So, many sky watchers are returning to that region to see two total eclipses from one location.

Cities such as Chicago experience a partial eclipse with 94% of the sun covered. Detroit has a 99% eclipse.  Nearly all locations in the contiguous US see the sun partly covered.

Historically, the weather prospects are not good for the date, although April 8, 2023, was a clear day across the US Midwest. Even with clouds, the sky gets very dark during the eclipse.

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

Three Planets Near Sun

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

Three of the bright planets frequently described in these articles are not visible because they are near the sun.  Mars, after its solar conjunction in November 2023, continues its long climb into the morning sky. Considerably dimmer than when it is near Earth, the planet is challenging to see. At thirty minutes before sunrise, it is over 5° above the east-southeast horizon.  The Red Planet is nearly 8° to the upper right of brilliant Venus.

Saturn is slowly moving into the eastern predawn sky. It rises only 10 minutes before the sun.  Mars passes by on April 10th.

Expect to see Mercury in several evenings in the western sky.  It is headed toward its best evening appearance of the year later this month.  This evening the planet is only 3° above the horizon at 30 minutes after sundown and not easily visible.

Here is today’s planet forecast:

Morning Sky

Venus

Brilliant Venus is slowly sliding into brighter twilight.  As the third brightest regular visit to the night sky, it can be found less than 5° up in the east-southeast at twenty minutes before sunrise.  It is bright enough to be seen without a binocular’s optical assist, but use one to initially find it.

Evening Sky

Jupiter after Sundown

2024, March 9: Jupiter is in the west-southwest after sundown.
Chart Caption – 2024, March 9: Jupiter is in the west-southwest after sundown.

Jupiter is the easiest bright planet to find after sundown.  An hour after night falls, it is less than halfway up in the west-southwest.  It easily outshines all other stars in the sky tonight.  The planet moves eastward against Aries, east or above an imaginary line from Hamal to Menkar.

Spot Jupiter and Planet Uranus through a Binocular

Spot Jupiter and Planet Uranus through a Binocular
Chart Caption – 2024, March 9: Through a binocular, Jupiter and Uranus are on opposite sides of the field of view. Uranus is near the star 53 Arietis (53 Ari).

Through a binocular, Jupiter and planet Uranus tightly fit into the same field of view. Place Jupiter to the lower right edge of the field.  Uranus is to the upper left, near the star 53 (53 Ari on the chart) in Aries.

To gauge Jupiter’s eastward trek, watch it approach and pass the star Omicron (ο Ari) on March 13.  The moon is nearby on this evening.

Jupiter sets less than five hours after sundown and before midnight.

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