August 27, 2024: Bright Jupiter, Mars, and the crescent moon gather in the eastern sky before daybreak. Saturn and Venus are visible during nighttime hours.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Jupiter, Mars, and Moon Gather
This morning, Jupiter, Mars, and crescent moon gather in the eastern sky before sunrise. Step outside an hour before daybreak, the crescent moon, 39% illuminated, is over halfway up in the east-southeast. It is 5.3° to Jupiter’s upper left, the brightest starlike body in this morning’s sky, and 8.3° to Mars’ upper right.
Jupiter plods eastward in front of Taurus, 9.6° to Aldebaran’s lower left, the Bull’s brightest star.
After their conjunction on the 14th, Mars marches eastward, 6.4° to Jupiter’s lower left. The planet passes 2.0° to Zeta Tauri’s upper left, the Bull’s southern horn. It is east of an imaginary line between Elnath and Zeta Tauri. It crosses the boundary into Gemini on September 6th.
When describing the events of a conjunction, the gap between planets, planet and moon, or moon and star, is measured.
When three or more bodies are near each other, a circle is used to describe the separation of the bodies. A standard binocular has a field of view of 7.5°, a circle with that diameter. This morning’s gathering is 8.6° in diameter and last month’s Jupiter-Mars-Moon gathering was 8.5°, both too large to fit into the same field of view.
Future Gatherings
After this morning’s gathering, Mars marches away from Jupiter, widening a gap each morning. The Red Planet travels through the zodiac and overtakes the Jovian Giant again during 2026. While the moon passes each planet every lunation – set of lunar phases – the three bodies are not this close again until 2026. The next Jupiter-Mars conjunction occurs on November 16, 2026.
By looking during a 60-day window centered on the conjunction date, two close gatherings occur.
Two weeks before the conjunction on November 2, 2026, Jupiter, Mars, and the moon gather in a 6.5° circle that fits into a binocular field.
This is followed by a closer gathering that includes Regulus, Leo’s brightest star, on November 30th, two weeks after the planets’ conjunction. The four celestial bodies fit into a circle 5.2° across.
Venus is in the sky to the lower left of the 2026 gathering. It passes Spica, over 50° to Regulus’ lower left on November 15, 2026.
Take a look for this morning’s gathering before sunrise.
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