2024, June 16: Preview Jupiter

June 16, 2024: During morning twilight, preview Jupiter’s morning appearance in the east-northeast.  Mars and Saturn are in the region.  After nightfall, the gibbous moon is near Spica.

Jupiter' Great Red Spot
Photo Caption – Jupiter (NASA Photo)

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by Jeffrey L. Hunt

Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 5:15 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 8:28 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

2024, June 16: Mars and Saturn are in the eastern sky before sunrise.
Chart Caption – 2024, June 16: Mars and Saturn are in the eastern sky before sunrise.

Three bright planets are west of the sun, rising before daybreak.  At one hour before sunrise, during morning twilight, Saturn is one-third of the way from the southeast horizon to overhead.  Dimmer than might be expected, the planet appears as a yellow-orange star.  It is brighter than most stars in the sky this morning.  Compare it to Fomalhaut, the 13th brightest star for northern hemisphere skywatchers.

Red-Orange Mars is farther east, nearly 20° above the eastern horizon and over 45° to Saturn’s lower left.  After their conjunction on April 10th, Mars has opened a wide gap to the Ringed Wonder.

Jupiter in Morning Sky

2024, June 16: During bright twilight, Jupiter is in the east-northeast to Mars’ lower left.
Chart Caption – 2024, June 16: During bright twilight, Jupiter is in the east-northeast to Mars’ lower left.

At this hour, Jupiter is a few degrees above the east-northeast horizon, about 30° to Mars’ lower left.  Venus and Jupiter are visible when they are near the horizon, because their light is not affected as much as the other planets, mainly because they are noticeably brighter than all the nighttime stars.

Wait another 15 minutes and Jupiter is 5° above the horizon.  At this level of twilight, a binocular is needed to spot Mars.  In a few mornings, Jupiter is high enough to see earlier during twilight.  At one hour before sunrise on solstice morning, the Jovian Giant is about the same altitude as it is this morning when Jupiter, Mars and Saturn span nearly 80° across the eastern morning sky.

As Mars widens a gap to Saturn, it overtakes Jupiter.  Their conjunction occurs on August 14th when the Red Planet passes 0.3° above the solar system’s largest world.

Evening Sky

Mercury and Venus

Venus and Mercury are east of the sun and considered evening planets, although they are tucked into bright twilight.  Venus passed superior conjunction, on the sun’s far side, on the 4th, while Mercury passed that configuration only two days ago. They set less than 20 minutes after nightfall.

Gibbous Moon and Spica

2024, June 16: The moon and Spica are visible after sunset in the southern sky.
Chart caption – 2024, June 16: The moon and Spica are visible after sunset in the southern sky.

Forty minutes later, as darkness falls, the bright gibbous moon, 76% illuminated, is less than halfway up in the south-southwest.  Earlier today, the lunar orb occulted or eclipsed Spica for sky watchers in Asia.  From North America, the moon is 3.9° to the lower left of the star. 

On July 13th, the moon occultation occurs for sky watchers across North America.  It is the second of 20 Moon-Spica occultations that last through November of 2025.

Tonight, the moon sets after midnight and over three hours before daybreak.

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