March 3-6, 2025: The evening moon approaches and passes Jupiter in the western sky after sunset. Jupiter is part of the evening planet parade that includes Mercury, Venus, and Mars.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Evening Planet Parade
Four bright planets and the moon are visible from the western sky to the east-southeast. At 45 minutes after sunset, brilliant Venus and Mercury are in the western sky. Jupiter is in the south-southwest, while Mars is in the east-southeast.
Moon Approaches and Passes Jupiter
The evening moon appears higher in the western sky each evening as it approaches and passes Jupiter.
Here’s what to see one hour after sundown:
March 3: The crescent moon, 21% illuminated, is less than halfway up in the west-southwest. It is 6.5° to Hamal’s lower left, Aries’ brightest star. Bright Jupiter, rambling eastward in front of Taurus, is nearly 35° to the moon’s upper left. For this waxing phase, this is likely the last night to easily see earthshine on the moon’s night portion, reflected sunlight from Earth’s features that softly lights the lunar night.
March 4: The moon, 31% illuminated, easily casts shadows. It is over halfway up in the west-southwest and nearly 20° to Jupiter’s lower right. The lunar orb is 7.2° to the Pleiades star cluster’s lower right. Use a binocular to see the star cluster in this moonlight. Additionally, after the end of evening twilight, 90 minutes after sunset, attempt to see planet Uranus through the binocular, 4.5° to the moon’s lower left. The planet, slightly dimmer than the identified stars on the accompanying chart, appears as an aquamarine star.
March 5: The moon occults or eclipses the Pleiades star cluster for sky watchers in eastern Asia. In the Americas after sundown, the moon, high in the west-southwest, approaches the evening half-full phase. It is between the Pleiades and Jupiter, 7.7° to the Jovian Giant’s lower right. The moon is at the First Quarter phase tomorrow morning at 10:32 a.m. Central Time.
March 6: The slightly gibbous moon, 54% illuminated, is high in the south-southwest, 9.8° to Jupiter’s upper left and 2.0° to Elnath’s lower right, Taurus’ northern horn. During the night, the moon edges eastward passing 0.6° to the star’s lower left before midnight Central Time. The moon occults the star for sky watchers in Central America and Mexico.
Watch the moon climb higher in the sky each night as it approaches and passes Jupiter.
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