July 29, 2024: Before sunrise, look for a Moon-Pleiades conjunction. The planet Uranus is nearby and in the same binocular field of view.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 5:42 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 8:12 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
Moon-Pleiades Conjunction
An hour before sunrise, step outside to look for the crescent moon, 36% illuminated, over halfway up in the sky in the east-southeast. The moonlight is bright enough to illuminate the ground, casting shadows, while washing out the dimmer stars.
The Pleiades star cluster, part of Taurus, is 6.7° to the lunar orb’s lower left. The star cluster and lunar crescent fit tightly into a binocular field, with the moon to the upper right and the stellar collection’s brightest stars to the lower left.
Planet Uranus is in the same field of view to the lower right. Once you marvel at the moon and star cluster, locate the stars 13 Tauri (13 Tau on the chart) and 14 Tauri (14 Tau). They are nearly the same brightness as Uranus. Move the binocular slightly so they are near the center of the field, to the aquamarine planet’s lower left.
Mars and Hyades
Mars, 7.2° to the Pleiades lower left, is marching eastward in front of Taurus toward a conjunction with Jupiter next month. The Red Planet appears in the same binocular field with Aldebaran, the Bull’s brightest star, and the Hyades star cluster.
Jupiter
Bright Jupiter is over 30° above the eastern horizon, 8.1° to Mars’ lower left, and 6.1° to Aldebaran’s upper left. It is the brightest starlike body in the sky this morning, nearly 10 times brighter than Capella, the bright star about 25° to its upper left.
Orion
Below the planets and the moon, Orion the Hunter continues its climb into the morning sky. Its brightest stars, Bellatrix, Betelgeuse, and Rigel are easily visible from a view with a clear horizon. While the Hunter’s three belt stars are higher each morning, use a binocular to see them.
Saturn
Saturn is visible at this hour, less than halfway up in the south-southwest. It is in front of an Aquarius’ dim starfield.
The planet is retrograding, an illusion as Earth overtakes the more-distant planet. The line of sight from Earth to the outer planetary bodies normally moves eastward against the distant starfield. As Earth catches the planet, the line of sight shifts westward, making the planet appear to back up compared to the stars.
The planet’s entire retrograde motion is visible through a binocular. Earth passes between Saturn and the sun during early September. The line of sight shifts eastward again during November.
Evening Sky
Mercury and Venus
Mercury and Venus are hidden by bright evening twilight. They set at nearly the same time, around 50 minutes after sundown.
Mercury is moving toward a morning appearance during early September, passing between Earth and Sun next month.
Venus is slowly making its way into the western sky after nightfall as the Evening Star. Its first appearance is affected by the low angle the solar system makes with the western horizon after sunset. While the planet is 15° from the sun, it is only 8° above the horizon at sunset, the effects of this low angle. The planet’s visibility suffers from this poor angle until mid-November, when it sets after the end of evening twilight. By early January 2025, it sets four hours after the sun, gaining 150 minutes of setting time during a short interval.
Begin looking for Venus with a binocular in two evenings at 30 minutes after sundown.
Saturn After Nightfall
Saturn rises less than two hours after nightfall. An hour later, the Ringed Wonder is less than 15° above the east-southeast horizon.
Tomorrow morning it is again in the south-southwestern sky. The waning crescent moon is near Mars.
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