September 6-9, 2026: Watch the waning crescent moon pass Jupiter and Mars before sunrise. Look for earthshine on the lunar night while Mars closes the gap to Jupiter before their November conjunction.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Venus as an Evening Star
Morning Planets, Crescent Moon
Bright Jupiter and Mars shine from the eastern sky during morning twilight. The waning crescent moon moves through the eastern sky before sunrise, passing the bright planets. An hour before sunrise, Jupiter is over 15° above the east horizon while Mars is over 40° above the horizon, to Jupiter’s upper right.
Mars moves eastward faster than Jupiter, passing by on November 16. Watch the Red Planet march eastward as it closes a gap to the Jovian Giant.
Earthshine
As the moon wanes into the crescent phases, look for earthshine on the lunar night portion. Sunlight reflected from Earth’s oceans, clouds, and land softly illuminates the moon’s darker portion. The effect is visible to the unaided eye from a clear location and is easier to see through a binocular. Photograph it with a steady camera and exposures up to several seconds.
Highlights
Here is what to see an hour before sunrise.
September 6: The crescent moon, 26% illuminated, is 47° above the eastern horizon. Mars is 5.2° below the lunar orb. The Red Planet is 10.2° to Castor’s upper right, one of the Twins. Jupiter is 28° to Mars’ lower left.
September 7: The moon, 17% illuminated, is over 30° above the eastern horizon. Castor, Pollux, and the moon form a nearly straight line spanning 9.8°. Jupiter is 13.2° to the moon’s lower left while Mars is 9.7° to the moon’s upper right . The Jupiter-Mars gap is 27.6°.
September 8: The thinner crescent moon, 9% illuminated, is 20° above the eastern horizon. Jupiter is 4.1° to the moon’s lower left. This is an excellent morning to photograph earthshine. Mars is 9.8° to Castor’s upper right. Jupiter is 27.2° to Mars’ lower left.
September 9: The crescent moon, 3% illuminated, is over 5 ° above the east-northeast horizon. It is 4.7° to Regulus’ upper right and 10.0° to Jupiter’s lower left. Mars is 9.6° to Castor’s lower right. The Jupiter-Mars gap is 26.7°.
After this sequence, the moon moves toward the New phase and disappears into the morning twilight. Jupiter continues to climb higher in the eastern sky each morning while Mars marches eastward against Gemini.
Watch the moon pass Jupiter and Mars while earthshine remains visible on the lunar night.
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