September 15, 2024: After sunset, the gibbous moon closes in on Saturn before their occultation in two mornings.
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by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 6:32 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 6:59 p.m. CDT. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program.
With Mercury’s departure before sunrise, four bright planets are visible during the night. Jupiter and Mars gleam in the southeast before daybreak, while Venus and Saturn are in the evening sky. The gibbous moon nears Saturn before their occultation in two mornings.
Here is the planet forecast:
Morning Sky
Mercury Challenging to See
With Mercury racing into brighter twilight and Saturn setting earlier, two bright planets are visible in the southeastern sky before sunrise.
Jupiter between the Horns, Mars near Castor’s Foot
At an hour before daybreak, bright Jupiter is high in the south-southeast. It is the brightest star in the sky this morning. At its place in the solar system, the planet resembles a star when viewed without a telescope.
Jupiter plods eastward between Taurus’ horns, 6.6° to Elnath’s lower right and 4.9° to Zeta Tauri’s upper right.
Mars, marching eastward in front of Gemini, is over 16° to Jupiter’s lower left and nearly 20° to the upper right of the Twins, Castor and Pollux. Mars is now east of Castor’s foot, marked by Tejat Posterior, the heel, and Propus, the toe.
Mars is still in the same binocular field with the star cluster Messier 35, with a few hundred stellar members.
With some patience, Mercury aficionados can find the speedy planet through a binocular about 5° up in the eastern sky in bright twilight at 25 minutes before daybreak.
Evening Sky
Gibbous Moon Nears Saturn
The bright gibbous moon, 94% illuminated, is less than 20° above the southeast horizon at one hour after sundown. It is nearing Saturn, over 20° to the lower left.
In two mornings, the lunar orb occults or eclipses the Ringed Wonder from western North America and Hawaii.
See Venus During Bright Evening Twilight
The fourth bright planet is Venus. The planet’s visibility suffers from the low angle the solar system’s plane makes with the western horizon after sunset. At an hour after nightfall, the Evening Star is over 5° above the west-southwest horizon and 3.8° to Spica’s upper right, Virgo’s brightest star. At this level of twilight, use a binocular to spot the star.
Mirroring the sun’s southward trek, Venus sets farther southward each evening. Tonight, the planet sets 64 minutes after sundown.
Saturn and the moon are in the sky nearly all night, appearing farther westward with Earth’s rotation. Moonset occurs nearly two hours before sunup, followed by Saturn over an hour later.
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