2024, May 25: Capella at Helical Rising

May 25, 2024:  The bright star Capella rises before sunrise, making its first morning appearance of the year.  Mars and Saturn are in the eastern sky during twilight.

Comet NEOWISE, July 11, 2020
2020, July 11: Comet NEOWISE shines from low in the northeast sky during early morning twilight. It is to the lower left of the star Capella.

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by Jeffrey L. Hunt

Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 5:22 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 8:14 p.m. CDT.  Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program.

Capella, Heliacal Rising

2024, May 25: Capella is low in the north-northeast, at its heliacal rising.
Chart Caption – 2024, May 25: Capella is low in the north-northeast, at its heliacal rising.

The bright star Capella makes its first morning appearance, or heliacal rising.  It is the fourth brightest star visible for sky watchers at the mid-northern latitudes, following Sirius, Arcturus, and Vega.

Capella is farther north than Arcturus and Vega.  It is six times brighter than Polaris, known as the North Star.

Meaning “the little she goat,” Capella is relatively nearby at 43 light years.  Its intrinsic brightness is nearly 150 suns.

At its northerly location, Capella rises before sunrise and it is about 20° up in the northwest during evening twilight.  It sets after midnight.

A star’s heliacal rising can be calculated, but spotting the star in the sky is the key factor to this event.  The first sighting is affected by weather and obstructions at the natural horizon.  Capella’s first morning appearance is a signal that the solstice is less than a month away.

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

2024, May 24: The moon is near Antares in the southwestern sky before sunrise.
Chart Caption – 2024, May 24: The moon is near Antares in the southwestern sky before sunrise.

One hour before sunup, the bright gibbous moon, 96% illuminated, is less than 15° above the south-southwest horizon, over 16° to Antares’ upper left.

Five Morning Planets

2024, May 25: Mars, Saturn, and Fomalhaut are in eastern sky during morning twilight.
Chart Caption – 2024, May 25: Mars, Saturn, and Fomalhaut are in eastern sky during morning twilight.

Farther eastward, Mars and Saturn are visible.  Saturn is higher in the sky and easier to see.  It is over 20° above the east-southeast horizon.  The planet does not dazzle like Venus or Jupiter, although it outshines most stars in the sky this morning.

After their conjunction last month, Mars has opened a wide gap to Saturn.  The Red Planet is over 10° up in the east and over 30° to the Ringed Wonder’s lower left.  It marches eastward considerably faster than Saturn’s slow eastward trek.

The star Fomalhaut made its first appearance a few mornings ago.  It is over 5° above the southeast horizon at this hour.

Mercury retreats into bright morning twilight. It rises 50 minutes before the sun and appears low in the eastern sky twenty minutes later, largely unobservable.

Jupiter makes its way into the morning sky, rising less than 15 minutes before the sun.  Expect its first morning appearance later next month.

Venus is moving toward its solar conjunction on June 4th, followed by a pretty apparition in the western evening sky. It makes its first appearance during late July.

Evening Sky

Moon Near Midnight

The evening sky is without a bright planet and the moon is not visible until nearly midnight.  This is the last evening that a bright solar system body is in the evening sky until June 7th. 

When the moon, 92% illuminated, is visible before midnight, it is low in the southeast.  Its gap to Antares, nearly 20° above the south-southeast horizon, is nearly 30°.

Tomorrow morning, the moon is in the southern sky before sunrise.

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