July 12, 2024: This morning Mars marches into Taurus. It appears to Jupiter’s upper right in the eastern sky before sunrise. Saturn is in the southern sky.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 5:27 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.
Mars Marches into Taurus
Before sunrise, Mars marches into Taurus. The planet begins to pass distant stars and planets in this easily-observed constellation.
Celestial Sphere
The sky can be represented as a giant, solid globe with the celestial bodies on it. This ancestral view is called the celestial sphere with the term “firmament” noting this idea.
Constellations represent multiple visualizations. For example, Taurus is a Bull. This famous pattern is represented in many ways in celestial artwork. The long-horned bovine emerges from the clouds with the Pleiades star cluster on its back. Sky watchers attempt to visualize a stick figure of this animal.
One of 88 Constellations
Taurus, one of 88 constellations, also represents part of the sky, like an irregular patch on a celestial quilt. All stars within that boundary are part of the constellation, regardless of whether they are part of the artwork or the stick figure.
Sometimes the term, “in Taurus” uses the celestial sphere concept that all the bodies are at the same distance. In reality, all the objects in space are at differing distances. Members of the solar system can be seen against the starry background, while the stars are foreground to more distant galaxies. In these articles, frequently, planets are described as moving against the distant background to recognize the dimensionality of space.
Here is today’s planet forecast:
Morning Sky
Jupiter and Mars in Taurus
One hour before sunrise, Jupiter and Mars are in the eastern sky before sunrise, in front of Taurus. Bright Jupiter, over 20° up in the east, is 4.8° to Aldebaran’s upper left. It is slowly moving eastward, slowly widening the gap to Taurus’ brightest star.
Mars, dimmer than Jupiter, is over 16° to Jupiter’s upper right and nearly 8° to the upper right of the Pleiades star cluster. The planet passes the stellar bundle in nine mornings.
Mars Nears Planet Uranus
Through a binocular, Mars is in the same field of view with planet Uranus. Place the Red Planet about halfway from the center toward the two o’clock position in the field. The more-distant planet is a dim aquamarine star at the view’s center. A telescope is needed to see its globe, even then it appears tiny.
Additionally, Uranus is in the same binocular field with the Pleiades star cluster. Mars joins the field in three mornings, when it passes Uranus.
Saturn
In contrast, Saturn moves slowly against a dim, distant Aquarius’ starfield. The planet retrogrades until November. Its direction is easy to see through a binocular from week to week.
The star Fomalhaut, part of the Southern Fish, is to Saturn’s lower right.
Evening Sky
Venus
Venus continues to slowly emerge from bright sunlight. It sets 40 minutes after nightfall, about the time outdoor lighting automatically turns on.
Mercury
At this hour, Mercury is less than 7° above the west-northwest horizon. A binocular is needed to see it.
Moon Nears Spica
The moon, approaching its First Quarter phase is easily visible during the daytime before the sun sets. After the sky darkens, the moon approaches Spica, Virgo’s brightest star, in the southwestern sky. The lunar orb occults or eclipses the star tomorrow evening from the Americas. This evening Spica is 12.5° to the moon’s upper left.
Look carefully for the star Porrima, also known as Gamma Virginis, 4.0° to the moon’s upper right. At this level of moonlight, use a binocular to see it.
Tonight, the moon sets nearly 3.5 hours after the sun.
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