April 11, 2024: After sundown, look for the Moon-Pleiades conjunction in the western sky. Mercury is at inferior conjunction.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 6:16 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 7:28 p.m. CDT. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program.
Mercury at Inferior Conjunction
Today, Mercury is at inferior conjunction between Earth and sun. It moves into the eastern morning sky for a very unfavorable view next month.
Summaries of Current Sky Events
Summary for Venus as a Morning Star, 2023-24
Here is today’s planet forecast:
Morning Sky
Saturn and Mars before Sunrise
Saturn and Mars are in the east-southeast before sunrise. While they mix in with the hues in the predawn sky, the planet pair is low in the east-southeast at 45 minutes before sunup. Mars is 0.6° to the upper left of Saturn.
Mars is marching eastward against the starry background that is not easily seen at this level of twilight. It rises one minute earlier compared to sunrise every two to three days. In comparison, Saturn rises two minutes earlier each morning. Saturn climbs into a darker predawn sky, while Mars seems to maintain low altitude until later next month.
Venus
Venus is heading toward a conjunction with the sun during early June. Rising 25 minutes before the sun, Earth’s Twin planet is immersed in bright sunlight.
Evening Sky
Jupiter and Crescent Moon after Sunset
Jupiter and the crescent moon are in the western sky after sundown. At one hour after sunset, the evening moon, 14% illuminated, is 30° up in the west. That’s one-third of the way from the horizon to overhead. The lunar orb is 6.2° to the upper left of the Pleiades star cluster and nearly 10° to the right of Aldebaran, Taurus’ brightest star.
Moon-Pleiades Conjunction
This is the last evening crescent Moon-Pleiades conjunction of the year. The conjunction cycle resumes before sunrise on July 2nd.
A crescent moon near the Pleiades star cluster is a stunning sight. The crescent shows earthshine, reflected sunlight from Earth’s features that softly lights up the lunar night between the moon’s cusps or horns. This effect is highlighted through a binocular.
Place the moon toward the upper left edge of the binocular field. The Pleiades star cluster appears to the lower right. To the unaided eye, six or seven stars are visible. Through the binocular a few dozen stars are seen. Notice that the cluster appears larger than the moon.
The cluster is too large to fit into a telescope eyepiece and is best viewed in a dark location or through a binocular.
While using the binocular, look for the Hyades star cluster, to the moon’s left. With Aldebaran, the star cluster makes a letter “V,” forming the Bull’s head.
Jupiter and Uranus
Locate Jupiter through the binocular and place the Jovian Giant at the center of the field. Spot up to four of Jupiter’s largest moons. They resemble stars near the planet.
Planet Uranus is near Jupiter, to its upper left. The planet is brighter than 53 Arietis (53 Ari on the chart) and 54 Arietis (54 Ari), but dimmer than Delta Arietis (δ Ari).
Jupiter is overtaking Uranus, passing by on the 20th, but the planet pair is low in the west-northwest after sunset on conjunction evening.
This evening Jupiter sets nearly 2 hours, 20 minutes after the sun. The moon follows nearly two hours later.
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