2024, September 12: Nightly Planet Parade Nearing End

September 12, 2024: The nightly planet parade of five bright planets – Mercury, Venus,
Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn – is nearing the end. Mercury is departing the morning sky.

Mercury and Venus, July 20, 2020
Photo Caption – 2020, July 20: Venus and Mercury shines from the eastern sky. Mercury is over 23° to the lower left of the brilliant planet.

September 12, 2024: The nightly planet parade of five bright planets – Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn – is nearing the end.  Mercury is departing the morning sky.

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by Jeffrey L. Hunt

Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 6:28 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 7:04 p.m. CDT.  Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program.

Mercury as Never Seen Before
Photo Caption – Mercury as Never Seen Before. (NASA photo)

The planet parade of the five bright planets is quickly falling apart with Mercury’s exit from the morning sky. While Saturn is visible nearly all night, it is departing the predawn sky. This morning, Saturn sets 35 minutes before the sun rises.  This display includes Uranus and Neptune, visible through a binocular. The planets in the modern solar system model are on display for a few more nights.

Here is the planet forecast:

Morning Sky

Bright Planet Morning Display

At 45 minutes before daybreak, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn are visible from east-northeast to west-southwest.

Nightly Planet Parade Ending
Chart Caption – 2024, September 12: At 45 minutes before sunrise, Mercury is in the eastern sky to Regulus’ lower left.

Find a clear horizon looking eastward to see Mercury.  Viewing from a hilltop or elevated structure helps you see the planet across any obstacles. A natural horizon can be viewed across a body of water.

Brighter than all stars this morning except for Jupiter and Sirius, the speedy planet is over 5° above the horizon.  Its visual intensity is muted by the hues of morning twilight and the blurring effects of the air near the horizon. Mercury is 4.8° to Regulus’ lower left, Leo’s brightest star. 

Regulus is higher in the eastern sky each morning as Mercury retreats, opening a wide gap between them.

Jupiter and Mars

Nightly Planet Parade Ending
Chart Caption – 2024, September 12: During morning twilight, Jupiter and Mars are high in the southeastern sky.

Bright Jupiter is high in the southeastern sky.  It plods eastward in front of Taurus, between the horns, Elnath and Zeta Tauri.  It is 10.8° to the lower left of Aldebaran, the Bull’s brightest star.

Mars, mirroring Aldebaran’s brightness and color, is 14.4° to Jupiter’s lower left.  It marches eastward in front of Gemini, near Castor’s foot.  It passed Propus, the toe, yesterday.  In two mornings, it passes Tejat Posterior, the heel.

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

Through a binocular, the Red Planet is still in the same binocular field of view with the distant star cluster cataloged as Messier 35, a stellar bundle nearly 3,000 light years away with a few hundred member stars.

Saturn

Nightly Planet Parade Ending
Chart Caption – 2024, September 12: At 45 minutes before sunrise, Saturn is in the west-southwest.

At this hour, Saturn is less than 5° up in the west-southwest.  This is likely the last morning to see the Ringed Wonder at this hour.  Tomorrow morning look for it fifteen minutes earlier when it is higher in the sky.

Evening Sky

Venus Leads Nightly Planet Parade Westward

Nightly Planet Parade Ending
Chart Caption – 2024, September 12: During bright evening twilight, Venus is in the western sky, near Spica.

Brilliant Venus leads the nightly planet parade westward.  It is bright enough to shine through brighter evening twilight.  Look for it about 5° above the western horizon at 30 minutes after nightfall.  The planet appears farther southward along the horizon each evening.

Venus is approaching Spica, Virgo’s brightest star, 7.0° to the planet’s left.  Tonight, they snugly fit into the same binocular field of view.  Place Venus to the left, then Spica appears to the left side of the field.

Saturn During Evening

Nightly Planet Parade Ending
Chart Caption – 2024, September 12: At 45 minutes after sunset, Saturn is in the east-southeast.

As the sky darkens further and Venus appears lower in the west, Saturn is visible in the east-southeast.  By 45 minutes after sundown, Saturn is nearly 10° up in the east-southeast, while Venus is near the horizon.

Moon with Teapot

Nightly Planet Parade Ending
Chart Caption – 2024, September 12: The bright gibbous moon is in the southern sky during the early evening with Sagittarius.

This evening the moon, 68% illuminated, is in the middle of the Teapot of Sagittarius in the southern sky. In this moonlight, use a binocular to see the lunar orb and the star pattern.

Parade Moves Westward

Venus sets before the end of evening twilight.  During the dark hours, the moon appears farther westward and Saturn rises higher in the sky.  Before midnight, the moon is near the horizon in the southwest.  Saturn is in the southern sky and Jupiter is above the east-northeast horizon. 

As twilight begins in the morning, Jupiter and Mars are again high in the southeast; Saturn is in the west-southwest; and Mercury is above the east-northeast horizon.

Look for this planet parade before Mercury disappears into brighter morning twilight.

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