March 13, 2024: After sundown, look into the western evening sky for a Jupiter-Moon conjunction. Planet Uranus is nearby in the same binocular field with them.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 7:05 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 6:56 p.m. CDT. 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 Saturn
Venus, Mars, and Saturn are west of the sun, making them morning planets. Saturn is completely lost in the sun’s brilliance, rising less than 20 minutes before the sun.
Brilliant Venus put on a morning spectacle during late fall and winter of 2023, but now it slides into brighter morning twilight. Rising 43 minutes before the sun, it is less than 5° above the east-southeast horizon at 20 minutes before daybreak. The planet is bright enough to see at this level of morning twilight, but a clear, uncluttered horizon is needed to attempt this observation.
Dim Mars is the easiest planet to see, although there’s no bright guide to point the way. At forty minutes before sunrise, the Red Planet is nearly 5° above the east-southeast horizon. It is not high enough to see without the help of a binocular. Haze in the atmosphere along the horizon, dims and blurs the planet.
Evening Sky
Mercury
Mercury is heading toward its best evening appearance of the year. At 40 minutes after nightfall, the planet is less than 5° above the west horizon. It is bright and, unlike Mars, can be seen near the horizon without a binocular’s optical assist. Use the binocular to initially find it and then look without the extra assistance.
The crescent moon, 18% illuminated, is less than halfway up in the west and over 30° to the upper left of the speedy planet. Look for bright Jupiter, 3.1° to the lower left of the lunar crescent.
Evening Jupiter-Moon Conjunction
As the sky darkens further, Mercury sets and more stars are visible in Jupiter’s vicinity. It is noticeably east of or above an imaginary line from Hamal to Menkar. The Pleiades and Hyades star clusters, nicely placed for inspection through a binocular, are above Jupiter.
Planet Uranus is above Jupiter and the moon. The trio easily fits into the same binocular field of view. Place the lunar crescent to the lower right side of the field, then Uranus is to the upper left, near the star 53 Arietis (53 Ari on the chart). Notice the star Rho (ρ Ari) inside a triangle of dimmer stars to the lower right of Uranus.
On April 10th, the moon returns to the region again. Jupiter, Uranus, and the crescent moon fit into a circle 4.6° across and easily into a binocular field. This is the closest they appear until October 3, 2037, when they fit into a circle 3.0°.
This evening, Jupiter passes the star Omicron Arietis (ο Ari) and moves toward Sigma (σ Ari).
Earthshine
Look for Earthshine on the moon, reflected sunlight from Earth’s oceans, clouds, and land between the cusps or horns. This effect can be photographed with a tripod mounted camera and exposures up to a few seconds.
Uranus First Observed, March 13, 1781
Uranus was first observed on this date by William Herschel in 1781. While the planet was thought to be a star, Herschel was the first to note that it moved against the background stars, indicating it was part of the solar system.
The planet revolves around the sun every 84 years. The planet moves eastward in front of zodiacal constellations and approximately returns to this place in front of this starfield in 84 years. Since the first recognition that the star was actually another world, Uranus has revolved around the sun 2.9 times.
This evening, Jupiter sets over four hours after sunset and before midnight.
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