August 31, 2024: The five bright planets are visible each night from sunset to sunrise. This morning the crescent moon appears with the Beehive star cluster.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 6:16 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 7:25 p.m. CDT. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program.
As August closes, daylight’s length at Chicago’s latitude is 13 hours, 9 minutes. Farther northward in Seattle, the sun shines for 14 more minutes. At London, United Kingdom’s latitude, daylight last 14 minutes longer than Seattle.
Farther southward, Miami’s daylight last 12 hours, 39 minutes. Closer to the equator, daylight is already approaching 12 hours, the length of daylight everyday at the imaginary line that separates the northern and southern hemispheres.
South of the equator, winter is winding down, and spring occurs at the equinox next month. At Sydney, Australia’s latitude, daylight is increasing. Today it is 10 hours, 53 minutes long.
Nightly Planet Parade
Five bright planets are visible during the nighttime hours from sunset to sunrise, in this order: Venus, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, and Mercury. They parade westward across the sky.
Venus is visible during bright twilight and sets before the end of evening twilight. Saturn rises before Venus sets, appearing farther westward during the night. Jupiter rises before midnight, followed by Mars nearly 30 minutes later. They stand high in the east-southeast as morning twilight begins. Mercury rises in the east-northeast during morning twilight, appearing higher as it disappears into brighter morning light. The five planets parade each night for the next two weeks, until Mercury retreats into bright twilight.
Here are the details where to look for them:
Morning Sky
Before sunrise, four bright planets – Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn – in the nightly planet parade are visible.
Morning Lunar Crescent
This morning at one hour before sunrise, a thin crescent moon, 6% illuminated, stands nearly 20° up in the east-northeast. This lunar cycle is finishing and the next lunation begins on September 2nd at 8:56 p.m. Central Time.
Use a binocular to spot the moon with the Beehive star cluster. Also known as the Praesepe or manger, the stellar bundle appears with Cancer’s stars, near the stars Asellus Borealis and Asellus Australis, representing two donkeys eating at the manger.
If possible, view the star cluster as early as possible, because it is easily washed out as sunup approaches. Attempting to view it too early, places the stars lower in the sky, where the air’s filtering effects dims celestial bodies. Looking too late and the brightening twilight veils the stars.
During the next lunation the cluster is higher when the moon passes by on September 27th, again fitting into the same binocular field of view, but the moon’s phase is 24% illuminated. After the September Moon-Praesepe conjunction until next spring, the moon’s phase is too bright to comfortably see the moon and star cluster together.
Jupiter and Mars with Taurus
Rising around midnight, bright Jupiter and Mars are high in the east-southeast in front of Taurus. Jupiter outshines all stars in the sky this morning. Between the Bull’s horns, the Jovian Giant slowly plods eastward, 10.0° to Aldebaran’s lower left, the constellation’s brightest star.
Mars marches eastward, 8.4° to Jupiter’s lower left. This gap widens each morning. The Red Planet is 3.0° to Zeta Tauri’s lower left, the Bull’s southern horn.
Morning Saturn
Saturn is lower in the west-southwest each morning, as opposition occurs, when Earth is between Saturn and the sun. This morning it is less than 20° above the horizon.
Mercury Ends the Nightly Planet Parade
At this hour, Mercury, the fifth planet in this nightly planet parade, is less than 5° up in the east-northeast and nearly 15° below the lunar crescent. Wait another 15 minutes to see the speedy planet higher in the sky.
While suffering from the air’s filtering and blurring effects and the brighter twilight, Mercury is brighter than Gemini’s Pollux and slightly dimmer than Procyon, the Little Dog Star.
Evening Sky
Venus Leads Nightly Planet Parade
Brilliant Venus is low in the western sky after nightfall. The brilliant Evening Star shines through evening twilight. Locate a clear view toward the west and initially use a binocular to see it.
At 30 minutes after sunset, Venus is about 5° up in the west. It sets almost 30 minutes later.
Saturn
The nightly planet parade continues when Saturn rises in the east-southeast, 20 minutes after sundown. As Earth rotates, Venus disappears below the horizon and the Ringed Wonder appears higher in the sky.
By two hours after sunset, Saturn is less than 20° up in the west.
As with this morning, Jupiter and Mars rise around midnight and appear higher in the sky as morning twilight begins. The crescent moon appears near Mercury low in the east-northeast, completing the nightly planet parade.
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