2024, July 9: July’s Leo Moon

July 9, 2024: This evening the moon makes its final appearance in the western sky with Regulus, Leo’s brightest star.  Jupiter, Mars and Saturn are visible before sunrise.

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by Jeffrey L. Hunt

Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 5:25 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 8:27 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

Jupiter, Mars

Jupiter, Mars, and Saturn are visible along the solar system’s plane before sunrise.  One hour before daybreak, Jupiter is over 15° above the east-northeast horizon.  It gently moves eastward in front of Taurus, 4.7° to Aldebaran’s upper left.  Tomorrow the planet appears closest to the star, but the conjunction is wide.

Mars, nearly 30° up in the east, is over 18° to Jupiter’s upper right.  Distinctly dimmer than the Jovian Giant, the Red Planet marches eastward, slowly overtaking the more-distant world.  Their conjunction occurs on August 14^th.  Before then, Mars passes the Pleiades cluster on the 21^st.  Beginning July 15^th through the 27^th, Mars appears in the same binocular field with the stellar bundle.

Aldebaran seems to be part of another star cluster known as the Hyades, although the star is closer and appears in the same direction as the stellar collection.  Together they appear as a letter “V, making the Bull’s head.  Mars appears in the same binocular field with the shape July 29^th through August 3^rd.

Watch Mars close the gap to Jupiter each clear morning, in this planetary foot race.

Saturn

Farther westward, Saturn is about halfway up in the south-southeast, retrograding in front of a dim Aquarius’ starfield.  Retrograde is the illusion that the planet is moving westward against the starfield.  This occurs when Earth overtakes and passes between and outer planet and the sun.

While Aquarius has no bright stars, two stars in neighboring constellations are below the Ringed Wonder.  Deneb Kaitos, part of Cetus, and Fomalhaut, belonging to the Southern Fish, are over 20° below the planet.

The planets revolve around the sun in nearly the same plane.  The plane between Earth and Sun is known as the ecliptic.  The other worlds line up along that imaginary circle.  This morning it arcs for the east-northeast to the southwest, with the three planets seem to be strung along it like jewels on a necklace.

Evening Sky

July’s Leo Moon

After sundown, the crescent moon, 16% illuminated, is 6.0° to Regulus’ upper left.  The star is the brightest in Leo.  The constellation is taking its final bow as it fades into bright evening twilight.

Regulus makes its final evening appearance in bright twilight on the 21^st, depending on sky conditions.  It reaches solar conjunction on August 22^nd.  Then it reappears in the eastern predawn sky during the first week of September.  Mercury passes by the star on September 9^th and the waning crescent moon pairs with the star 20 mornings later.

At this evening’s level of twilight at an hour after nightfall, a binocular might be needed to see the constellation, a westward facing Lion.  Regulus dots the bottom of a backwards question mark, also known as the Sickle of Leo – after the agricultural tool.  A triangle outlines the haunches and tail, Denebola, the eastern-most star. 

Earthshine

Find earthshine on the moon’s night portion.  This effect is from sunlight that reflects from Earth’s oceans, clouds, and land.  It softly lights up the lunar night, easily visible without a binocular.  Photograph earthshine with a tripod-mounted camera and exposures up to a few seconds.

Since the moon’s reappearance, it has remained low in the sky.  While it has moved eastward about 13° each evening, its altitude or height above the horizon, increased only 16°. The planet seems to be moving parallel to the horizon.  This is from the low angle the solar system makes with the western horizon after sunset during this season.  While Venus and Mercury do not move as quickly as the moon, their favorable appearance is hampered by this geometry.

Venus, Mercury, Moon

Venus is not visible, setting nearly 40 minutes after sundown.  Mercury is at its maximum setting time after nightfall, 81 minutes.  As Venus sets, Mercury is nearly 7° above the west-northwest horizon.  Use a binocular to see it.  Possibly, the lunar crescent is visible above the west cardinal direction and nearly 25° to Mercury’s upper left.

This evening, the moon sets over two hours after sundown. Tomorrow evening, it is slightly higher in the western sky with a thicker phase.

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