October 20, 2024: Before sunrise look for a wide gathering of Jupiter, Moon, and Aldebaran. Venus, a comet, Saturn, and Mars are visible during nighttime hours.
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by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 7:09 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 6:01 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
Wide Gathering of Jupiter, Moon, and Aldebaran
Before sunrise, Jupiter, gibbous Moon, and Aldebaran form a wide gathering that fills a 14° circle in the western sky. When the moon passes a planet or distant star, a conjunction occurs and the separation is stated as an angular measure. When Jupiter is included, the smallest circle is defined that contains the triplet. This morning’s gathering is too wide to fit into the same binocular field of view. The moon and Aldebaran are too far apart as well.
During this appearance of Jupiter in front of Taurus, the triplet was gathered in a circle only 5.5° across, and easily in the same binocular field, on July 3rd. They will not be a compact gathering again until June 22, 2036.
The moon is over halfway up in the west-southwest, 13.6° to Jupiter’s lower right, and 10.0° to Aldebaran’s upper right, Taurus brightest star. Jupiter slowly retrogrades near the Bull’s horns, Elnath and Zeta Tauri.
Mars near Pollux
Mars, marching eastward in front of Gemini, is over 45° east of Jupiter. It is near Pollux, one of the Gemini Twins. In ten mornings, the Red Planet is on an imaginary line that begins at Castor and passes through Pollux. Watch Mars continue its eastward trek.
Mars is distinctly dimmer than Jupiter, the brightest star in the sky this morning. It mimics Aldebaran’s color and brightness.
Evening Sky
Mercury is slowly making its way into the western evening sky. It sets about 30 minutes after nightfall, during bright twilight.
Venus, Scorpius, and a Comet
At 45 minutes after sunset, Venus is easy to locate less than 10° up in the southwest. Find a clear view in the planet’s direction. The planet steps eastward in front of Scorpius, 1.2° to Dschubba’s upper left, the Scorpion’s forehead. Use a binocular. It is 7.1° to the right of Antares, the heart.
Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is over 25° to Venus’ upper right. Use a binocular to locate the comet’s nucleus, hazy coma – that surrounds the starlike center – and tail that points away from the sun. With the comet higher in the sky, take another look later in twilight when the sky is darker.
Saturn
After sunset, Saturn, retrograding in front of Aquarius, is less than 25° up in the southeast and to Fomalhaut’s upper left.
Evening Gathering
Four hours after sundown, the gibbous moon, 81% illuminated, is less than 20° up in the east-northeast. It is 5.5° to Jupiter’s upper left and over 13° to Aldebaran’s left. While the moon is farther eastward, the gathering is slightly more compact than this morning, but still too far apart for all three of them to fit into the same binocular field of view.
Tomorrow morning, this triplet is in the western sky.
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