2024, April 6: Evening Jupiter

April 6, 2024: Bright Jupiter is in the western sky after sundown.  Find planet Uranus near the Jovian Giant through a binocular.

2022, June 15: Venus, Mars, Jupiter about one hour before daybreak.
Photo Caption – 2022, June 15: Venus, Mars, Jupiter about one hour before daybreak.

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by Jeffrey L. Hunt

Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 6:24 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 7:22 p.m. CDT.  Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program.

Solar Eclipse Observing

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

Observing the solar eclipse is an exciting event.  Use a safe observing technique.  One way is to project the image through a telescope or a binocular to a white surface.  Do not look directly through the binocular or telescope.  Projection allows for group observing.

Solar Projection
Photo Caption – Solar Projection of an annular eclipse.

A mirror covered by paper with a dime-size hole can be used to project the eclipse image into a darkened room or on the side of a building in shadow.

The Sunspotter is a telescope constructed so that the image is projected inside a box for group viewing.

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

Here is today’s planet forecast:

Morning Sky

Morning Planets

2022, March 28: A close bunching of Venus, Saturn, Mars, and the crescent moon.
Photo Caption – 2022, March 28: A close bunching of Venus, Saturn, Mars, and the crescent moon.

At 45 minutes before daybreak, Mars is about 5° up in the east-southeast.  A binocular is needed to see it.  The planet’s color blends in with the reddish hues of morning twilight, making the Red Planet a challenge to see at this altitude – height above the horizon.

Mars’ eastward march overtakes Saturn in four mornings.  This morning, the Ringed Wonder is 3.0° to Mars’ lower left, but only 3° above the horizon.  An unobstructed horizon and exceptional weather are needed to find this celestial jewel through a binocular. 

At 30 minutes before daybreak during bright twilight, the thin crescent moon, 8% illuminated, is nearly 4° above the horizon, a challenging view.

Venus, rising 26 minutes before the sun, is lost in the sun’s glare for casual sky watchers.

Evening Sky

Jupiter in Western Evening Sky

Evening Jupiter April 6, 2024
Chart Caption – 2024, April 6: Bright Jupiter is in the western sky after sundown, below the Pleaides star cluster.

Mercury, setting only 47 minutes after the sun, continues to leave the evening sky.  Too faint for easy observations, the planet is overtaking our world, passing between Earth and Sun on the 11th.

The only bright planet for easy observing is Jupiter.  It is that bright star in the western sky at nightfall. An hour after sundown, it is less than 20° above the western horizon.  It treks eastward in front of Aries.  It is far above or east of an imaginary line from the Ram’s Hamal to the Sea Monster’s Menkar.

The Jovian Giant appears in the same binocular field of view with Uranus. Place Jupiter at the center of the field of view to look for up to four of Jupiter’s largest moons, resembling stars that closely hug the planet.

While in the area, look at the Pleiades star cluster, above Jupiter, and the Hyades cluster, with Aldebaran to the upper left, that outline Taurus’ head.

Jupiter, Uranus through a Binocular

2024, April 6: Through a binocular, Jupiter and Uranus appear in the same field of view.
Chart Caption – 2024, April 6: Through a binocular, Jupiter and Uranus appear in the same field of view.

Uranus is relatively easy to see through the binocular, even in the perpetual glow of outdoor lighting found in suburban areas.  Slightly tilt the binocular so that Jupiter moves from the center of the field of view toward the bottom of the field, about halfway from the center to the six o’clock position if the circular field were a clock face.  Dim Uranus is near the center of the field.

To fully identify the dimmer and more-distant planet, identify Rho Arietis (ρ Ari on the chart), to Jupiter’s lower right.  Stars Delta Arietis (δ Ari) and Zeta Arietis (ζ Ari) are to the upper right, the latter is near the edge of the field.  Dimmer stars 53 (53 Ari) and 54 (54 Ari) are to Delta’s lower left.  Aquamarine Uranus, brighter than the numbered stars, is to their upper left near the center of the field.  Uranus’ globe is visible through a telescope with high magnifications.

Bright Jupiter sets in the west-northwest less than three hours after sundown.

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