March 14, 2024: This evening, do not miss the moon-Pleiades conjunction in the western sky after sundown. Jupiter is below the spectacular view.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 7:03 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 6:57 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
The three morning planets – Venus, Mars, and Saturn – are challenging to see. The trio is west of the sun rising before the central star. Saturn rises only 20 minutes before the sun rises and it is not visible.
Venus, heading for superior conjunction with the sun during early June, rises 42 minutes before the sun.
Mars rises 67 minutes before sunup. While it is dim, it is over 5° above the horizon at 30 minutes before daybreak. While there are no bright stars in the region to guide the view to Mars, it is visible through a binocular.
Evening Sky
Mercury
Mercury is moving toward its best evening appearance of the year. It sets five to six minutes later compared to sunset each evening.
At forty-five minutes after sunset, it is nearly 5° above the west horizon. The planet is bright, although a binocular helps with the initial identification. At this time, bright Jupiter is over 30° to the speedy planet’s upper left and the crescent moon, 28% illuminated, is above the bright Jovian Giant.
Do Not Miss the Moon-Pleaides Conjunction
Fifteen minutes later, the Pleiades star cluster is visible 2.3° above the moon. This is a spectacular sight through a binocular as well as the unaided eye. Forget supermoons and other obtuse astronomy events promoted by the popular press. Tonight’s pairing is a do-not-miss event.
The moon passes the cluster during each lunation, but the spectacular sights occur during the moon’s crescent phases. Brighter moon phases overwhelm the fainter stars. Crescent phases occur when the moon is near the sun after sunset or before sunrise. From the seasonal placement caused by Earth’s revolution around the sun, the Seven Sisters appear in the western evening sky during spring and eastern morning sky during summer. This opens the windows for spectacular pairs of a lunar crescent with the stellar bundle. During those pairings the crescent moon displays earthshine, a soft light between the lunar horns or cusps. The effect is from sunlight reflecting from Earth’s features.
At first look this evening, the cluster might not be visible because the moon is bright enough to light up the ground and cast shadows. Look again to see the cluster, that resembles a miniature dipper above the lunar slice.
Next month’s pairing, on April 11th, is wider, tightly fitting into the same binocular field, although the moon’s night portion may spill out of the view. After the Pleiades pass behind the sun and reappear in the morning sky, the pair is nearly 4° apart in the predawn sky on July 2nd. On July 29th, the waning crescent moon and the cluster’s brightest stars fit tightly into the same field of view.
Later tonight, the moon occults or eclipses the brightest Pleiad star Alcyone, also known as Eta Tauri (η Tau), for sky watchers in Hawaii and Australia.
Jupiter, Uranus
In addition to the moon and Pleiades, with a binocular, find Uranus in the same field with Jupiter. Place Jupiter toward the lower right. Last night, the Jovian Giant passed the star Omicron Arietis (ο Ari on the chart). During the next several evenings, watch it move and pass Sigma (σ Ari).
Uranus, resembling an aquamarine star is to the upper left in the field near the star 53 Arietis (53 Ari). Pause at the star Rho (ρ Ari). It appears inside a triangle of three dimmer stars to the lower right of Uranus.
Jupiter sets in the west-northwest over four hours after sunset and before sunrise.
RECENT PODCASTS
LATEST ARTICLES
- 2026, April 9: Sun, Moon, and Planet Almanac
April 9, 2026: The Last Quarter moon appears before sunrise in front of Sagittarius while Venus and Jupiter dominate the evening sky. Track daylight changes and planetary visibility. - 2026, April 8 -11: Morning Moon and Sagittarius Before Sunrise
A waning gibbous moon moves in front of Sagittarius before sunrise from April 8–11l. See the changing positions each morning. - 2026, April 7: Moon Near Antares Before Sunrise, Venus and Jupiter After Sunset
2026, April 7: A 75% illuminated moon appears near Antares before sunrise. After sunset, Venus and Jupiter shine brightly, with Venus moving toward a conjunction in the evening sky. - 2026, April 6: Moon Near Antares: Spot Messier 4 and Scorpius Before Sunrise
April 6, 2026: The 83% illuminated moon appears near Antares before sunrise. Use a binocular to locate Pi Scorpii, Al Niyat, and the globular cluster Messier 4 low in the south-southwest sky. - 2026, April 5: Early Spring Evening Stars – 10 Bright Stars Visible Tonight
See 10 of the 15 brightest stars during early spring evenings. Find Sirius, Arcturus, Jupiter, and more using this simple sky guide after twilight ends.