September 16, 2024: Saturn and the Moon appear next to each other in the southeastern sky after sunset. Watch the moon overtake the planet during the night.
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by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 6:33 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 6:57 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
Jupiter, Mars Morning Planets
Two bright planets, Jupiter and Mars, are easily visible as morning twilight washes across the predawn sky. Jupiter is the brightest star in the sky this morning. An hour before sunrise, find it high in the southeastern sky. It plods eastward in front of Taurus, near the horns, Elnath and Zeta Tauri.
Mars, noticeably dimmer, marches eastward near Castor’s foot. Mars passed Jupiter over a month ago. The gap this morning is over 16° and widening each morning.
The Red Planet is slowly brightening as our planet begins to overtake it. This morning the planet is over 124 million miles away, diminishing eight million miles by month’s end.
2024, August 25: Mars Photo by Damian Peach
Mars appears small through backyard telescopes. Accomplished planet photographers are publishing photos of the nearby world as the distance between our home world and Mars decreases.
Mercury
Mercury races back into bright morning light. It rises 65 minutes before the sun, losing over 25 minutes of rising time since its best morning view over a week ago. The planet is over 5° up in the east-northeast at 30 minutes before daybreak. It is bright, but overwhelmed by increasing twilight.
Evening Sky
Saturn Moon Evening Display
This evening the bright gibbous moon, 98% illuminated, stands above the east-southeast horizon. The Harvest Moon, the Full moon that occurs nearest the autumnal equinox, occurs at 9:34 p.m. Central Time.
The moon is near perigee, point closest to Earth, on the 18th at 8:22 a.m. Central Time. Its distance is 222,045 miles. The popular press has adopted the term “supermoon” to name a perigean Full moon. The farthest point in the lunar orbit, known as apogee, occurs on October 2nd.
Partial Lunar Eclipse
Additionally, a partial lunar eclipse occurs tomorrow evening when 8% of the lunar orb passes through Earth’s dark umbral shadow. The event occurs for sky watchers from western Africa and Europe to South America and most of North America. Look for a small edge of the moon to be darker than the bright lunar disk from 9:11 p.m. to 10:16 p.m. Central Time. The popular press will name this event as something like, “A partial blood supermoon.”
For casual sky watchers, there is not much difference in the perceived size of the moon in the sky from apogee to perigee. Photography and devices to measure light intensity are needed to distinguish the size and brightness from apogee to perigee. In reality, every Full moon looks big and bright. It makes beautiful photos when near the horizon above magnificent landscapes. Just go outside and look at it. Take a Full moon walk without a flashlight.
Saturn Occultation
Before the partial lunar eclipse, the moon occults or eclipses Saturn from western North America and Hawaii tomorrow morning before sunrise.
This evening, the bright moon is 5.6° to the right of Saturn. During the night watch the moon close in on the planet from its eastward revolution. As the midnight hour approaches, the pair is high in the south. The gap between them closes to 3.6°, with Saturn to the moon’s upper left.
Venus Approaches Spica
Shortly after sunset tonight, Venus approaches Spica, Virgo’s brightest star. Find the Evening star about 5° above the west-southwest horizon at 30 minutes after nightfall. Use a binocular to see the star 2.9° to the planet’s lower left.
Tomorrow evening, Venus passes Spica in a wide conjunction, the gap is 2.4°. Use the binocular to watch Venus widen the gap each evening.
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