2024, October 21:  Jupiter-Moon Conjunction

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.

Jupiter, Moon, October 17, 2014.
Photo Caption – The moon and Jupiter, October 17, 2014, 6:40 a.m. CDT

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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

Jupiter-Moon Conjunction
Chart Caption – 2024, October 21: Five hours after nightfall, Jupiter and the gibbous moon are in the eastern sky.

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 Retrigrades
Chart Caption – 2024, October 9-2025, February 4: Jupiter retrogrades against the Taurus starfield.

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

2024, October 21: Mars, near Pollux, is high in the south-southeast during morning twilight.
Chart Caption – 2024, October 21: Mars, near Pollux, is high in the south-southeast during morning twilight.

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

2024, October 21: At 45 minutes after sunset, Venus is in the southwestern sky with the Scorpion.
Chart Caption – 2024, October 21: At 45 minutes after sunset, Venus is in the southwestern sky with the Scorpion.

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.

2024, October 21: During evening twilight, Saturn is in the southeastern sky, to the upper left of Fomalhaut.
Chart Caption – 2024, October 21: During evening twilight, Saturn is in the southeastern sky, to the upper left of Fomalhaut.

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

Saturn retrogrades, 2024
Chart Caption – 2024: Saturn retrogrades through a single binocular field of view in front of Aquarius during 2024.

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-Moon Conjunction
Chart Caption – 2024, October 21: Five hours after nightfall, Jupiter and the gibbous moon are in the eastern sky.

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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