2024, September 8: Mars Passes Star Cluster, See Nightly Planet Parade

September 8, 2024:  Mars passes the star cluster Messier 35, at Castor’s foot.  During the nightly planet parade see five bright planets – Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.

2022, June 15: Venus, Mars, Jupiter about one hour before daybreak.
Photo Caption – 2022, June 15: Venus, Mars, Jupiter about one hour before daybreak.

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by Jeffrey L. Hunt

Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 6:24 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 7:11 p.m. CDT.  Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program.

Mars Passes Star Cluster

Mars marches into Gemini
Chart Caption – 2024, September 5-15: Through a binocular, Mars passes the star cluster Messier 35 and some Gemini stars.

Mars passes the star cluster cataloged as Messier 35 (M 35) near Propus, a toe on Castor’s foot.  Now marching eastward in front of Gemini, the Red Planet’s gap with the stellar bundle is 1.0°.  Find the planet before twilight begins.  Use a binocular to see the star cluster nearby.

Messier 35 does not have a formal name. It did not appear in any celestial catalog until the 18th century.  The cluster is the 35th entry on Charles Messier’s list of objects that are not comets.  M 35 is visible to some sky watchers at locations without outdoor lighting. It is interesting that it does not have a formal name like other star clusters in the Taurus-Gemini-Cancer region, especially when the planets frequently move in front of these stars and seem to pass closely to the star cluster.

The cluster is less than 3,000 light years away and it has over 100 members, possibly as many as 400.  It is best viewed at low magnifying powers as the cluster covers a patch of the sky that is as large as the Full moon.

Nightly Planet Parade

During the next few evenings, the five bright planets – Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn – parade westward. The parade begins each evening with Venus appearing low in the western sky and ending with Mercury’s appearance.  Uranus and Neptune are in the sky as well, but a binocular is need to see each.  Uranus is in the same field of view with the Pleiades, a relatively easy find, but much dimmer Neptune appears nestled in a dim Pisces starfield.

The five-planet parade ends in about a week.  Mercury disappears into sunlight to reappear in the evening sky during mid-November.  Then the planet parade shifts toward the evening sky.  The planets are not visible simultaneously, but they appear within six hours of sunset, as Mercury sets and Jupiter rises, followed by Mars.

Bright Jupiter Easiest to See

Planet Parade September 2024
Chart Caption – 2024, September 8: An hour before sunrise, bright Jupiter is between Taurus’ horns, while Mars is near Castor’s foot. Uranus is near the Pleiades star cluster.

All the planets resemble stars to the unassisted eye, although if a binocular is held steadily, up to four of Jupiter’s moons are visible.  The Jovian Giant is easy to locate high in the southeastern sky before the sun rises. It rises in the east-northeast around midnight and appears higher in the sky during the predawn hours.

Find Saturn

Planet Parade September 2024
Chart Caption – 2024, September 8: After midnight Saturn and Neptune are in the southern sky.

The second easiest planet to see is Saturn.  Rising at sunset in the east-southeast, appearing in the south after midnight, and setting in the west-southwest around sunrise, it is the brightest star in the region.

Mars with Gemini

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 is the third easiest planet to see tonight.  It is in Jupiter’s region of the sky, positioned to the largest planet’s lower left.  Mars has a similar brightness and color (topaz) to Aldebaran, Taurus’ brightest star, appearing to Jupiter’s upper right.

Venus Leads Nightly Parade

Planet Parade September 2024
Chart Caption – 2024, September 8: Venus and the crescent moon are in the southwestern sky after sunset. Use a binocular to find Spica, to Venus’ upper left.

Venus is next.  While it is the brightest starlike body in the sky, outshone only by the sun and moon, it is low in the west during brighter twilight.  It shines through evening’s early light, but find a clear horizon.  A hilltop or elevated structure allows a sightline across any obstacles.

This evening, Venus is nearly 12° to the lower right of Spica, Virgo’s brightest star.  Use a binocular to see the star, but it does not appear in the same binocular field with the Evening Star. 

The crescent moon, 29% illuminated, is less than 15° up in the southwest.  As the sky darkens look for earthshine on the moon’s night portion.

Mercury Ends Parade

Planet Parade September 2024
Chart Caption – 2024, September 8: At 45 minutes before daybreak, Mercury is above Regulus in the eastern sky.

Mercury is the fifth easiest to see in the east-before sunrise. Only Jupiter and Sirius are brighter, but it shines through morning twilight. At 45 minutes before sunrise, it is less than 8° up in the east, 1.3° above Regulus, Leo’s brightest star. Tomorrow morning, a close Mercury-Regulus conjunction occurs. Like Venus, find a clear horizon.

Uranus near Pleiades Star Cluster

Planet Parade September 2024
Chart Caption – 2024, September 8: An hour before sunrise, bright Jupiter is between Taurus’ horns, while Mars is near Castor’s foot. Uranus is near the Pleiades star cluster.

Uranus’ brightness is near the limit of human eyesight.  It is visible in a very dark location without outdoor lighting.  For others a binocular is needed to see it in the same field of view with the Pleiades star cluster, part of Taurus, near the stars, 13 Tauri (13 Tauri on the chart) and 14 Tauri (14 Tau). Through a telescope it appears as a tiny globe.

Neptune Most Difficult to See

Planet Parade September 2024
Chart Caption – 2024, September 8: After midnight, use a binocular to see Neptune in front of a dim Pisces starfield.

Neptune is the most challenging if not impossible to see. Even under the best sky conditions, it is not visible to the unassisted eye. Neptune is about 12° east of Saturn, to the left in the northern hemisphere, in a dim Pisces’ starfield. The first challenge is to find the stars cataloged as 20 Piscium (20 Psc on the chart), 24 Piscium (24 Psc), 27 Piscium (27 Psc), and 29 Piscium (29 Psc) in the dim starfield through a binocular, followed by identifying the planet as a faint aquamarine star above the four distant stars. To see the planet’s round shape, you will need a telescope with a large mirror and high magnification.  Seeing this planet is largely a lost cause unless you are particularly persistent with appropriate equipment.

Look for the nightly planet parade during the next week.

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