Four planets are visible on October 15.  Venus and Mars are in the morning sky.  Mars returns to the sky during the early evening along with Jupiter and Saturn.

by Jeffrey L. Hunt

Chicago, Illinois:  Sunrise, 7:04 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 6:08 p.m. CDT.  Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times.

Morning: The old crescent moon is low in east about one hour before sunrise. Venus and Mars are morning planets.  Venus is “that bright star” in the eastern sky before sunrise. Mars, now past opposition is very low in the west, setting a few minutes before sunrise.

The higher Venus is in the eastern sky, the lower Mars is in the western sky.  They are approaching their opposition so that Venus rises as Mars sets.  This occurs on November 9.  After that date, the two planets are not in the sky at the same time until next summer when they appear in the evening sky together.

Detailed morning note: One hour before sunrise, Venus – about 24° up in the east-southeast – is 0.3° to the lower right of Chi Leonis (χ Leo). The moon (28.0 days after the New Moon, 3% illuminated) is about 7° up in the east, nearly 20° to the lower left of Venus. Through a telescope, Venus is 14.2” across and 76% illuminated, a morning gibbous phase. Mars – 144.2° of ecliptic longitude west of Venus – is over 9° up in the west. The Venus – Mars gap has grown over 20° since the month begins.  Venus is quickly stepping eastward in Leo as Mars retrogrades in Pisces. 

See our summary about Venus during October 2020 and the feature article  about Venus as a Morning Star.

Evening:  Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn are evening planets.  Bright Jupiter is low in the south with Saturn to its upper left.  The planets are slowly moving eastward compared to the stars from night-to-night.  Farther east, bright Mars – distinctly a rusty tint – is low in the east during early evening.  It is in the south at nearly 12:30 a.m. CDT tomorrow morning.

Detailed evening note:One hour after sunset, Mars is over 10° in altitude in the east.  Jupiter – 91.3° of ecliptic longitude west of Mars – is over 25° in altitude in the south.  Saturn is 6.4° to the upper left of the Jovian Giant.  In the starfield, Jupiter is 3.1° to the lower left of Pi Sagittarii (π Sgr) and 1.3° to the lower right of 50 Sagittarii (50 Sgr).  Saturn is 1.7° to the lower left of 56 Sagittarii (56 Sgr).  An hour later, Mars is over 21° up in the east-southeast.  It is 3.0° to the upper right of Mu Piscium (μ Psc), 1.6° to the upper left of 89 Piscium (89 Psc), and 2.6° to the lower right of Zeta Piscium (ζ Psc). Through a telescope, Mars is 22.2” across.

For more about the Great Conjunction, read our feature article. This is the closest Jupiter – Saturn conjunction since 1623.

Read more about the planets during October.

During early October nights four bright planets and the moon appear in the sky.  Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars shine during evening hours.  Before sunrise brilliant Morning Star Venus and Mars gleam in the sky.

by Jeffrey L. Hunt

During early October nights, Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars shine during the early evening hours.  By morning, Mars is in the western sky as Venus sparkles in the east.  The moon is moving toward Venus for a grouping as mid-month approaches on the calendar.

Jupiter and Saturn shine from the southern sky as the sky darkens. Both planets are gently moving eastward compared to the starry background in eastern Sagittarius.  They are about 7° apart.

Jupiter catches Saturn on December 21, 2020, in what is called a Great Conjunction.  Both planets are slow-moving.  Jupiter revolves around the sun in nearly 12 years, while Saturn takes nearly 30 years to make one solar circuit.

Jupiter and Saturn group together nearly every 20 years.  This is the closest conjunction since 1623.

This is an event in slow motion as Jupiter inches toward the Ringed Wonder.  With a binocular make regular observations to watch the shrinking gap

Jupiter sets in the southwestern sky before midnight and Saturn follows about 40 minutes later.

The Sagittarius region near Saturn has a kite-shape group made of four dim stars.  Use a binocular to locate it.  It is known informally as the Territory of Dogs or Dogs Kingdom.

Mars – a few days after its closest approach to Earth – is nearing its opposition (October 13).  While at its brightest, Earth passes between the sun and Mars.  The sun and Mars are on opposite each other in the sky.

Mars rises in the east when the sun sets in the west, appears in the south near midnight, and sets in the west.

This image shows the Red Planet compared to its starry background during the early evening.  On the photo Mars is near Mu Piscium (μ Psc).  During the next few weeks watch the planet move toward 80 Piscium (80 Psc).

Mars is retrograding compared to the stars. This an illusion from Earth passing an outer planet.  Mars continues to retrograde for the next month.

In the morning Mars is in the west.  In the photo above, notice how the orientation of the stars appears shifted from the evening view.  The relationship of the stars is the same as during the evening photo.

As morning twilight begins look eastward for brilliant Venus.  It is stepping eastward in front of the stars of Leo.  In the photo above it appears near Rho Leonis (ρ Leo on the photo).

See our summary about Venus during October 2020 and the feature article  about Venus as a Morning Star.

Meanwhile, the moon appears farther eastward each morning.  In the photo above, the gibbous moon was seemingly between the Bull’s Horns, Elnath and Zeta Tauri (ζ Tau on the photo).

Each morning look at Venus and the nearby starfield with a binocular as the planet steps farther away from Regulus and moves away from ρ Leo.

Watch Venus continue to move through Leo during most of October.

The moon is in the region with Venus and Regulus beginning October 12.

Read more about the planets during October.