2024, July 2: Eastern Morning Menagerie

July 2, 2024: Before sunrise, Jupiter, Mars, Crescent Moon, Aldebaran, and the Pleiades star cluster are in the eastern sky.  Mercury is a challenging view after sunset.

2022, March 28: A close bunching of Venus, Saturn, Mars, and the crescent moon.
Photo Caption – 2022, March 28: A close bunching of Venus, Saturn, Mars, and the crescent moon.

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by Jeffrey L. Hunt

Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 5:20 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 8:29 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

A Pretty Morning View

2024, July 2: Saturn is in the south-southeast before sunrise.
Chart Caption – 2024, July 2: Saturn is in the south-southeast before sunrise.

Before sunrise, a pretty gathering occurs with Jupiter, Mars, the moon, Pleiades star cluster, and the star Aldebaran.  Here’s what to see:

One hour before sunrise, find the crescent moon, 15% illuminated, 20° up in the east-northeastern sky.  Notice the earthshine on the night portion, caused by sunlight reflected from Earth’s features.

Look carefully for the Pleiades star cluster, 3.7° to the lunar crescent’s left.  Through a binocular the view of the moon, with its soft nighttime illumination, and the Pleiades is a wonderous sight.

Bright Jupiter is over 10° up in the east-northeast and over 12° to the moon’s lower left.  The Jovian Giant is slowly moving eastward in front of Taurus.

Jupiter greets the moon during morning twilight.
Photo Caption – Jupiter greets the moon during morning twilight.

The Bull’s brightest star, Aldebaran, is 5.0° to Jupiter’s lower right and nearly 7° above the horizon.

Tomorrow Jupiter, Moon, and Aldebaran gather closely, fitting into a circle nearly 10° in diameter.  That is about the size of a fist at arm’s length.  The next close gathering of the three occurs June 22, 2036.

2007, December 1: Late winter in the northern hemisphere shows clouds above the northern polar cap and some above the southern cap.
Photo Caption – 2007, December 1: Late winter in the northern hemisphere shows clouds above the northern polar cap and some above the southern cap. (NASA Photo)

Mars, dimmer than Jupiter, is nearly 25° up in the east.  Marching eastward in front of Aries, the Red Planet is over 20° to Jupiter’s upper left.  It passes the solar system’s largest planet on August 14th.  Each morning the planet moves eastward along the ecliptic, the solar system’s plane, about the width of the moon’s size in the sky.

Saturn

2024, July 2: Saturn is in the south-southeast before sunrise.
Chart Caption – 2024, July 2: Saturn is in the south-southeast before sunrise.

Saturn, slightly dimmer than Mars, is less than halfway up in the south-southeast.  It is retrograding slowly in front of Aquarius.  The stars Deneb Kaitos, Cetus’ tail, and Fomalhaut, the mouth of the Southern Fish, are below the planet.

Saturn retrogrades, 2024
Chart Caption – 2024: Saturn retrogrades through a single binocular field of view in front of Aquarius during 2024.

Use a binocular to see it in front of the dim starfield. 

Evening Sky

Venus

Venus continues its slow entry into the evening sky.  Nearly a month after its superior conjunction on the sun’s far side, the planet sets only 33 minutes after the sun.

Mercury, A Challenging View

2024, July 2: Mercury is low in the west-northwest during bright evening twilight.
Chart Caption – 2024, July 2: Mercury is low in the west-northwest during bright evening twilight.

Seemingly struggling to climb into the evening sky, Mercury is over 7° above the west-northwest horizon at 30 minutes after sundown.  It gains some more altitude during the next few weeks, but dims noticeably.

For this apparition, the planet is visible only with optical assistance.  Find the planet with a binocular by placing the west-northwest horizon at the bottom of the field and gently moving the binocular from side to side.  Mercury appears near the top of the view.

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