2024, May 3:  Moon Gathers with Morning Planets

May 3, 2024: The moon gathers with Saturn and Mars before sunrise.  Jupiter departs the evening sky.

2022, June 24: The crescent moon with earthshine before sunrise.
Photo Caption: 2022, June 24: The crescent moon with earthshine before sunrise.

PODCAST FOR THIS ARTICLE

by Jeffrey L. Hunt

Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 5:44 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 7:52 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

2024, May 3: Mars, Saturn, and the crescent moon are in the eastern sky before sunrise.
Chart Caption – 2024, May 3: Mars, Saturn, and the crescent moon are in the eastern sky before sunrise.

Moon Gathers with Morning Planets

For three mornings beginning in the eastern predawn sky, the moon gathers with Mars and Saturn. Each morning, the lunar orb is farther eastward.

Today at 45 minutes before sunrise, the crescent moon, 28% illuminated, is about 15° above the east-southeast horizon.  Saturn is 7.8° to the lunar orb’s left, outside the same binocular field of view with Earth’s closest celestial body.

Look for earthshine on the night portion of the moon, between the lunar cusps or horns.  This effect is reflected sunlight from Earth’s features.  It is visible without a binocular but the optical assistance helps with the view.  Photograph it with a tripod-mounted camera and exposures up to a few seconds.

Mars is over 15° to Saturn’s lower left and about 10° above the eastern horizon.  It marches eastward faster than Saturn and continues to widen a gap between the two planets. 

Mars’ visibility, without a binocular’s assist, is marginal, depending on the sky’s clarity at any particular location.

Mercury, Venus

Mercury continues to move into the morning sky for a disappointing appearance after mid-month.  It rises nearly 50 minutes before the sun, but it is dim and lost in the sun’s predawn light.

Venus, even with its brilliance, is a victim of the sun’s radiance.  Earth’s Twin planet rises only 16 minutes before the sun.

Evening Sky

Goodbye, Jupiter !

2024, May 3: After sundown, Jupiter is low in the west-northwest.
Chart Caption – 2024, May 3: After sundown, Jupiter is low in the west-northwest.

Jupiter disappears into bright evening twilight heading toward its solar conjunction on the 18th and a return to the eastern morning sky.

At 30 minutes after nightfall, the planet is less than 5° above the west-northwest horizon.  We say, “Goodbye, Jupiter,” until it reappears in the morning sky later next month.

This evening, Jupiter sets 55 minutes after sundown.

Until the moon reappears in the western sky on the 9th, the evening is without a bright solar system body.

RECENT PODCASTS

LATEST ARTICLES