2024, September 11: Don’t Miss the Nightly Planet Parade

September 11, 2024: Don’t miss the nightly planet parade of five bright planets before Mercury departs in the a few mornings.

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

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by Jeffrey L. Hunt

Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 6:27 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 7:06 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 the planet forecast:

Morning Sky

Don’t Miss the Nightly Planet Parade

Don’t Miss the Nightly Planet Parade
Chart Caption – 2024, September 11: At 45 minutes before sunrise, Mercury is to Regulus’ lower left in the eastern sky.

The parade of five bright planets is quickly breaking up with Mercury’s departure from the eastern morning sky.  

At 45 minutes before sunrise, find it over 6° above the eastern horizon.  Dimmer than Jupiter and Sirius, the speedy planet is quite bright as it shines through morning twilight.  To ensure that you have found it, first use a binocular.  It is 3.2° to Regulus’ lower left, Leo’s brightest star. The star is noticeably dimmer than the planet.

Mercury’s September Morning Appearance
Chart Caption – 2024, September 10-14: Mercury’s changing separation from Regulus, Leo’s brightest star, as the innermost planet disappears into twilight.

As Mercury retreats into bright twilight, it is lower in the sky each morning and it brightens.

Jupiter, Mars

Don’t Miss the Nightly Planet Parade
Chart Caption – 2024, September 11: During morning twilight, Jupiter and Mars are high in the southeast.

At this hour, bright Jupiter, high in the southeast, slowly plods eastward between Taurus horns, Elnath and Zeta Tauri, 10.7° to Aldebaran’s lower left, the Bull’s brightest star.  Resembling a star, Jupiter is brighter than all the stars in the sky this morning.

Mars, marching eastward in front of Gemini, is 1.0° to Propus’ upper left, Castor’s toe.  It mirrors Aldebaran’s color and brightness.  The Red Planet is 13.9° to Jupiter’s lower left, a very wide gap since their conjunction about three weeks ago.

Dim Uranus and Neptune

Two dimmer planets, Uranus and Neptune, are in the sky at this time.  Planet Uranus is in the same binocular field with the Pleiades star cluster near the stars 13 Tauri and 14 Tauri.  See this article for more details.  A binocular is needed to see the planet.

For beginning sky watchers, finding Neptune is a lost cause.  It is in a very dim Pisces starfield, about 12° to Saturn’s upper left.

Saturn

Don’t Miss the Nightly Planet Parade
Chart Caption – 2024, September 11: Saturn is low in the west-southwest during morning twilight.

The Ringed Wonder is over 5° up in the west-southwest.

At this hour six planets are in the sky.  The four brightest – from Mercury to Saturn – mark the plane of the solar system, where we see the planets.  The distant stars that form the starry background behind them are part of the zodiac.  The Mercury-Saturn gap is nearly 170°.  From east to west, the zodiac constellations in the sky are: Leo, Cancer, Gemini, Taurus, Aries, Pisces, and Aquarius.  On occasions, the moon and planets are seen at the edges of Orion and Cetus.

Evening Sky

Venus Leads Planet Parade Westward

Don’t Miss the Nightly Planet Parade
Chart Caption – 2024, September 11: At 30 minutes after sunset, Venus is low in the western sky. It is approaching Spica. Use a binocular to see the star.

Each evening, the five-bright-planet parade begins in the western sky with the Venus’ sighting.  The Evening Star is 5° above the western horizon at 30 minutes after sundown.  Venus is closing a gap to Spica, 8.1° to its left.  They are too far apart to fit into the same binocular field.  Find Venus and move the binocular slightly to the left.  Venus disappears out of the right side of the field and Spica enters the left side.  Their conjunction occurs on the 17th.

Find Venus and Saturn

Don’t Miss the Nightly Planet Parade
Chart Caption – 2024, September 11: At 45 minutes after sunset, Saturn is in the east-southeast.

During the next 20 minutes, look for Saturn in the east-southeast at the same time Venus is still in the sky. This observation is easier as the month progresses as Venus sets later and Saturn is higher in the sky.

The planet parade is shifting toward the evening sky.  Jupiter is visible with Venus and Saturn during early November, followed by Mars during December.  The five bright planets, along with Uranus an Neptune are visible when Mercury enters the western sky during mid-November, although Mercury sets before Mars rises.

Moon with the Teapot

Don’t Miss the Nightly Planet Parade
Chart Caption – 2024, September 11: About mid-way from Venus to Saturn, the moon is in front of Sagittarius after nightfall.

This evening, the moon, 58% illuminated, is low in the southern sky, near the Teapot of Sagittarius, a modern nickname for the Archer’s brightest stars.  Because of the moon’s brightness, use a binocular to see the pot as well as Lesath and Shaula, two stars at the Scorpion’s stinger, to the moon’s lower right.

The lunar orb is about midway from Venus to Saturn.

From Saturn to Venus, the zodiac constellations in the early evening sky are: Aquarius, Capricornus, Sagittarius, Scorpius, Libra, and Virgo.   

Be sure to look for this nightly planet parade before Mercury departs the morning sky.

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