June 10, 2024: After sundown, the crescent moon is in the west. Before sunrise, Mars and Saturn appear in the eastern sky.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 5:15 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 8:26 p.m. CDT. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program.
Here is today’s planet forecast:
Morning Sky
Mars and Saturn in Eastern Sky
Mars and Saturn are in the eastern sky before sunrise. Saturn, nearly 30° above the southeast horizon is easier to locate. While not as bright as Venus and Jupiter, it outshines most of the stars this morning. For example, Fomalhaut, nearly 25° to Saturn’s lower right, is slightly dimmer than the Ringed Wonder. Deneb Kaitos, to Saturn’s lower left, is clearly fainter than the planet.
Mars, over 10° up in the east, is slightly brighter than Saturn. The Red Planet passed the Ringed Wonder on April 10th and has opened a wide gap between the planets. This morning the separation is over 40°. On average, the gap widens more than the apparent diameter of the Full moon each morning.
Look for Hamal, Aries’ brightest star, over 13° to Mars’ upper left. This morning the planet stepped in front of this constellation moving from Pisces’ background.
Mercury and Jupiter
Two other planets are west of the sun, rising in the eastern sky before sunrise, although they are veiled in bright morning twilight. Mercury reaches superior conjunction in four days. Then it moves into the western evening sky for a disappointing apparition.
Jupiter is moving into the eastern morning sky. It first appears low in the east-northeast before sunrise about the time of the solstice.
Evening Sky
Venus
Venus continues its slow entry into the western evening sky. After its solar conjunction about a week ago, the planet sets less than 10 minutes after the sun.
Evening Crescent Moon in West
The moon is the showpiece in the evening sky tonight. Still a waxing crescent moon, 22% illuminated, it is nearly one-third of the way up in the west at one hour after sundown. It is over halfway from Gemini’s Pollux to Leo’s Regulus.
Again, this evening, look for earthshine on the moon’s night portion, between the cusps or horns. The soft light is from sunlight reflected from Earth’s features.
This evening the lunar orb sets nearly four hours after sundown and after midnight.
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