October 21, 2024: A Jupiter-Moon conjunction occurs high in the southwestern sky before sunrise. During the nighttime hours, Venus, Saturn, and Mars are visible.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 7:11 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 5:59 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-Moon Conjunction
This morning a Jupiter-Moon conjunction occurs in the predawn sky. An hour before sunrise, find the bright gibbous moon, 79% illuminated, high in the west-southwest, 6.0° to Jupiter’s upper right. It is near the Bull’s horns, 0.5° to Elnath’s lower left, the northern horn, and 7.4° to Zeta Tauri’s upper right, the southern point.
Jupiter slowly retrogrades in front of Taurus, 11.6° above Aldebaran, the Bull’s brightest star. Retrograde is an illusion as Earth overtakes the Giant Planet.
Mars near Pollux
Mars, considerably dimmer than Jupiter, is high in the south-southeast, over 30° east of Jupiter and the bright moon. It marches eastward in front of Gemini, 5.7° to Pollux’s lower left. The planet’s eastward hike takes it toward an alignment with Castor and Pollux. On the 30th, Mars crosses an imaginary line that begins at Castor and extends through Pollux. Watch the planet trek eastward.
Evening Sky
Mercury continues a slow entry into the evening sky, setting during bright twilight, 30 minutes after sunset.
Venus
As darkness falls, brilliant Venus is less than 10° up in the southwest. It is easy to see from a place with a clear view toward the horizon. Use a binocular to see Dschubba, the Scorpion’s forehead, 2.2° to the planet’s lower right.
Venus is stepping toward Antares, marking the arachnid’s heart, 6.0° to the left. Mars passes 3.1° from the star on the 25th.
Saturn is farther eastward, nearly 25° up in the southeast and over 20° to the upper left of Fomalhaut, the mouth of the Southern Fish. It is not bright like Venus or Jupiter, but it is the brightest star in the region
The Ringed Wonder retrogrades in front of Aquarius’ dim stars. Use a binocular to watch it appear to move westward against the starfield.
Jupiter-Moon LateNight
Jupiter rises nearly three hours after sunset, followed by the moon, 20 minutes later. By five hours after sundown, the gibbous moon, 72% illuminated, is less than 20° up in the east-northeast, nearly 15° to Jupiter’s lower left.
Tomorrow morning, Jupiter, Mars and the moon are in the southern sky.
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