2024, August 14: Jupiter-Mars Conjunction

August 14, 2024: A Jupiter-Mars conjunction occurs in the eastern sky before sunrise.  The planets are only 0.3° apart.

Jupiter-Mars conjunction, August 14, 2024
Photo Caption – Jupiter-Mars conjunction, August 14, 2024

PODCAST FOR THIS ARTICLE

by Jeffrey L. Hunt

Jupiter-Mars Conjunction

Jupiter Mars conjunction
Chart Caption – An hour before sunrise, a Jupiter-Mars conjunction occurs in front of Taurus.

A Jupiter-Mars conjunction occurs in front of Taurus before sunrise.  An hour before daybreak, look eastward for the bright star nearly halfway from the horizon to overhead.  This is Jupiter.

Jupiter-Mars conjunction, August 14, 2024
Photo Caption – Jupiter-Mars conjunction, August 14, 2024

This morning Mars passes only 0.3° to Jupiter’s upper left.  The Red Planet has been running down Jupiter since it passed Saturn on April 10th.  While the two planets appear close together in the sky, they are about 360 million miles apart in space.

Mars revolves around the sun every 1.9 years outpacing Jupiter’s 11.8-year orbital duration.  Mars marches eastward fairly quickly, traveling against the stars at a rate about five times Jupiter’s.

Do not confuse Mars with Aldebaran, Taurus’ brightest star, to the right of the planet conjunction.

Telescope View

Jupiter Mars conjunction
Chart Caption – 2024, August 14: The Jupiter-Mars conjunction fits into the eyepiece of a lower-power eyepiece.

Jupiter and Mars fit into a telescope’s eyepiece yielding about 80x of magnifying power.  Mars appears as a red-ocher globe.  The planet is too far away to see much surface detail.

In contrast, Jupiter’s clouds are easily visible as well as the four largest satellites.  From the east, Ganymede, Europa and Io are visible, although Io is silhouetted against the planet.  Callisto, the fourth moon, is west of the planet.

Jupiter's volcanically active moon Io casts its shadow on the planet in this dramatic image from NASA's Juno spacecraft. As with solar eclipses on the Earth, within the dark circle racing across Jupiter's cloud tops one would witness a full solar eclipse as Io passes in front of the Sun. (NASA Photo)
Photo Caption – Jupiter’s volcanically active moon Io casts its shadow on the planet in this dramatic image from NASA’s Juno spacecraft. As with solar eclipses on the Earth, within the dark circle racing across Jupiter’s cloud tops one would witness a full solar eclipse as Io passes in front of the Sun. (NASA Photo)

Look through the eyepiece carefully.  The shadows of Io and Europa are cast against the cloud tops.  Some more magnification might be needed to see the round shadows.  This occurs when a more powerful eyepiece of a shorter focal length is used. (The eyepiece’s focal length, usually in millimeters, is marked on the side of the optic.  If a 20 mm eyepiece produces 80x of magnification, then 10 mm magnifies 160x. The point here is that Jupiter, with its moon, and Mars fit into a lower-power eyepiece.)

It should be noted that the view through the telescope may be different from the chart above.  Some telescopes turn the image upside and backwards from left to right or some version of this.

Future Jupiter-Mars Conjunctions

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 passes Jupiter again on November 16, 2026, when the gap is 1.2°.  The conjunction occurs in front of Leo, three constellations to the east, and 4.3° to Regulus’ upper right. These conjunctions occur about every 27 months.

Mars passes Jupiter in front of Taurus again on July 1, 2060, occurring about 3° west of this morning’s conjunction location, but Jupiter is less than 5° above the eastern horizon at an hour before sunrise.  Venus and Saturn are not far away on that morning. 

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

The Jupiter-Mars conjunction occurs about three months after the Jupiter-Saturn great conjunction in 2060.  Interestingly, on the evening of April 6, 2060, the two bright giant planets, Venus, and the Pleiades star cluster fit tightly into the same binocular field of view. On April 3rd, the moon fits snugly into the scene with the three planets and the star cluster. The next evening it stands over 10° above Venus.  This 2060 conjunction in front of Taurus occurs 16 Jupiter-Mars conjunctions from this morning’s event.

Mars Marches Away

Jupiter Mars conjunction
Chart Caption – 2024, August 11-18: Mars approaches and passes Jupiter.

During the next several days watch Mars march away from Jupiter and widen the gap to the solar system’s largest planet.

RECENT PODCASTS

LATEST ARTICLES