2024, November 7: Moon Between Evening Planets

November 7, 2024: After sundown, the moon appears between brilliant Venus and Saturn.  Bright Jupiter and Mars rise later during the night.

2023, January 23: The crescent moon, Venus, Saturn after sundown.
Chart Caption – 2023, January 23: The crescent moon, Venus, Saturn after sundown.

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by Jeffrey L. Hunt

Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 6:31 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 4:37 p.m. CDT.  Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program.

Morning Sky

Morning Jupiter

2024, November 7: One hour before sunrise, Jupiter is in the western sky.
Chart Caption – 2024, November 7: One hour before sunrise, Jupiter is in the western sky.

Before sunrise, bright Jupiter is less than halfway up in the west.  It retrogrades between Taurus’ horns, Elnath and Zeta Tauri. Notice Aldebaran, the Bull’s brightest star, over 10° below the Giant Planet.

Earth passes between Jupiter and the sun, known as opposition on December 7th.  Until then, Jupiter rises earlier each evening.

Mars Follows

2024, November 7: One hour before sunrise, Jupiter is in the western sky.
Chart Caption – 2024, November 7: One hour before sunrise, Jupiter is in the western sky.

Mars, rising over three hours after Jupiter, is high in the south-southwest.  It brightens as our world is beginning to overtake the Red Planet. Only Jupiter and Sirius are brighter this morning.  The planet is over 90 million miles from Earth.

Mars marches eastward in front of Cancer, over 9° to Pollux’s lower left.  Look carefully for Asellus Australis, 8° to Mars’ left.  It is in the same binocular field with the Beehive star cluster.

Evening Sky

Mercury continues to emerge from bright twilight,  It rises 52 minutes after nightfall.

Venus, Moon

Moon between evening planets
Chart Caption – 2024, November 7: Brilliant Venus is in the southwest after sunset. The moon is east of the Evening Star.

Step outside this evening an hour after sundown.  The thick waxing crescent moon, 37% illuminated, is over 20° up in the southern sky.  The phase is bright enough for it to illuminate the landscape and cast shadows.

The phase continues to grow through the Full moon on the 15th.  The evening half-full moon, known as First Quarter, occurs tomorrow night a few minutes before midnight.

Each evening the moon is farther eastward.  Tonight, it is nearly halfway from brilliant Venus in the southwest to Saturn in the southeast.

The Evening Star continues to appear higher in the southwest after sunset.  When looking for the moon, find brilliant Venus nearly 10° above the southwest horizon.  It is visible about 10° above the horizon at this hour.  It is nearly 35° to the lower right of the lunar orb.

Saturn East of Moon

Moon between Evening Planets
Chart Caption – 2024, November 7: One hour after sunset, Saturn is in the southeast, to the east of the moon.

Saturn, considerably dimmer than Venus, is over one-third of the way from the southeast horizon to overhead. The planet is brighter than all the stars in the region.  It is over 20° to Fomalhaut’s upper left, the mouth of the Southern Fish, and nearly 20° from Deneb Algedi, Capricornus’ tail.

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

The Ringed Wonder is retrograding in front of Aquarius. As our planet pulls away from Saturn, the retrograde slows and it ends on the 16th.  Track its changing place with a binocular.

Tomorrow evening, the moon is over halfway from Venus to Saturn.

Jupiter, Mars Rise Later

Tonight, bright Jupiter rises nearly two hours after sundown.  Look for Venus and Jupiter at the same time.  Venus is low in the southwest, while Jupiter is low in the east-northeast.

As the midnight hour approaches, Jupiter is over halfway up in the east-southeast, while Mars is about 20° up in the east. At this hour, Saturn is over 15° above the west-southwest horizon. Tomorrow morning find Jupiter and Mars in nearly the same places as this morning.

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