April 27, 2024: Leo is visible in the south after sundown. The moon, Mars, and Saturn are visible before sunrise. Jupiter is low in the west-southwest after sunset.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 5:52 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 7:46 p.m. CDT. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program.
Evening Leo
With the bright winter stars slowly descending into evening twilight, Leo is high in the south. The westward-facing lion is marked by a backwards question mark or sickle, the farmer’s cutting tool, outlining the head, and a triangle dotting the haunches and tail.
Regulus, meaning “the prince,” is the constellation’s brightest star. It is the 15th brightest star for sky watchers at the mid-northern latitudes. The star is nearly 80 light years away and shines with a brightness of nearly 150 suns.
Denebola is the Lion’s tail, over 20° to Regulus’ upper left.
Leo is a window to space beyond our own galaxy. The regions east and northeast (left and upper left) of Denebola are flush with thousands of distant galaxies that are millions of light years away. While the Orion region has several bright stars, star clusters, dust, and gaseous nebulae, it marks a spiral arm that is nearly opposite the center of the galaxy between Scorpius and Sagittarius. The Leo region is the foreground for a view of the distant universe.
Regulus is a bright signpost along the ecliptic, the plane of the solar system. It is the closest bright star to the plane. All the bright bodies in the solar system seem to pass the star during their respective celestial cycles. The moon’s next conjunction with Regulus occurs on May 15th. The sun is here during late August each year. Tonight, when you look toward Regulus, you are seeing the sun’s approximate early afternoon position during late summer.
Summaries of Current Sky Events
Summary for Venus as a Morning Star, 2023-24
Here is today’s planet forecast:
Morning Sky
Morning Gibbous Moon
The bright morning moon, 89% illuminated, is less than 20° above the south-southwest horizon. It is in front of Ophiuchus and above Scorpius. The lunar orb is 6.9° to the left of Antares.
Mars and Saturn
Farther eastward 15 minutes later, Mars and Saturn are visible. Saturn is over 10° above the east-southeast horizon. It rises two minutes earlier each morning and appears higher in the sky. The change is noticeable from week to week.
Mars continues to open a gap with the Ringed Wonder. The Red Planet is over 7° above the east horizon and 11.2° to Saturn’s lower left. After their conjunction on the 10th, Mars marched away from Saturn and the gap continues to widen.
Mars, slightly brighter than Saturn, mixes with the hues of morning twilight. Use a binocular to find it by first locating Saturn. Then move the binocular to the lower left to find Mars.
Mercury and Venus
Mercury and Venus are hiding in bright sunlight. They are moving in opposite directions. Mercury, rising 43 minutes before sunrise, is heading toward a difficult-to-see appearance in the eastern morning sky next month.
Venus rises 18 minutes before sunrise. Its solar conjunction occurs during early June, followed by a wide swing in the western evening sky.
Evening Sky
Jupiter
Jupiter is quickly leaving the evening sky, leading up to its solar conjunction next month and reappearance in the eastern morning sky. At 45 minutes after sundown, the Jovian Giant is less than 5° above the west-northwest horizon. Unlike, other worlds, this bright planet is easily visible at this height above the horizon, known as the altitude, though visual obstructions may block the view.
Jupiter is nearly 20° to the lower right of Aldebaran, Taurus’ brightest star. When Jupiter reappears in the morning sky, it passes the star on July 10th.
This evening, Jupiter sets 77 minutes after the sun.
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