The sky is very clear this evening. The crescent moon, overexposed in the image, shows Earthshine. Sunlight reflected from Earth falls on the night portion of the moon and gently illuminates it. Brilliant Venus is just above the southwest horizon. In about 10 days, Venus begins its cycle of greatest brightness. Jupiter appears over 17 degrees to the upper left of Venus. Jupiter gets closer to Venus during the month, but there is no conjunction.
September 6: In the predawn eastern sky, the waning crescent moon (26.0 d, 15%) is on a virtual line that connects the Gemini Twins, Castor (α Gem, m = 1.6) and Pollux (β Gem, m = 1.2). The moon is 9.2° from Pollux. Thirty minutes before sunrise, with binoculars, look in the east-northeast for Mercury (m = −1.1) 1.2° to the left of Regulus. Mercury is 6.5° up in the sky.
In the evening sky, Saturn’s retrograde ends. It is 5° to the upper right of Kaus Borealis (λ Sag, m = 2.8), the star at the top of the lid of the Teapot of Sagittarius, and 45° from Jupiter. Mars and Jupiter have the same visual brightness (m = −1.9). Because they have distinctly different colors, do they appear to be the same brightness to you? While they are over 70° apart, it is not appropriate in formal astronomy to compare respective objects’ brightness, but it is a fun activity. Look near the end of twilight because they have nearly the same altitude early in the evening.
September 1: Mercury (m = −9) is 10° up in the east-northeast, 30 minutes before sunrise. It is approaching a conjunction with Regulus (α Leo, m = 1.3). This morning Regulus is 7.8° below Mercury, and very difficult to locate, even with optical assistance and a perfect horizon.
In the evening sky, for most of the month, Venus (m = −4.7) and Spica (m = 1.0) set at nearly the same time, 85 minutes after sunset this evening. As they separate, Venus moves farther south. (Recall that the farther north an object the longer it stays in the sky.) As they slide into twilight the largest time gap in their setting times is 15 minutes. Jupiter (m = −1.9) is 24° to the upper left of Venus. (If the Martian dust storms subside,) At 10 p.m. CDT, when Mars is near the meridian about 22° up, it may provide excellent telescopic views. Mars moved into the boundaries and in front of the sidereal backdrop of Capricornus.
While Venus shines in the western sky, Jupiter and Saturn appear in the southern sky with Antares between them. The star is the brightest star in Scorpius.
Bright Jupiter, in the south-southwest, appears to the upper right of Zubenelgenubi. Watch Jupiter approach and pass the star during the next month.
Saturn, just past its opposition, shines in the southeast, is 52 degrees to the lower ft of Jupiter.
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Look for 5 planets during the month. From mid-northern latitudes, they are not visible simultaneously. Look for Mercury about 30 minutes after sunset with binoculars, then wait for Mars to cross the southeastern horizon. Four bright planets then span the sky from Mars to Venus. Mars reaches its opposition later in the month. The planet is closer than it’s been since 2003.
Click here for the blog’s table of contents
Look for 5 planets during the month. From mid-northern latitudes, they are not visible simultaneously. Look for Mercury about 30 minutes after sunset with binoculars, then wait for Mars to cross the southeastern horizon. Four bright planets then span the sky from Mars to Venus. Mars reaches its opposition later in the month. The planet is closer than it’s been since 2003.
July opens with the waning gibbous moon in the south-southwest. Mars, now the second brightest planet, is 25° up in the south-southwest, 5.8° below the moon. At the same time, Saturn is 10° up in the southwest. With both planets near their oppositions, they appear in the southeastern sky during the evening and move westward during the night. During the early evening, four bright planets are arched across the sky, with the trio of bright outer planets in retrograde.
One hour after sunset, brilliant Venus stands 14° up in the west. Venus is 9° to the lower right of Regulus. Watch Venus close in and pass Regulus during the first 9 days of the month. At this hour, dimmer Mercury is 4° up in the west-northwest, setting nearly 90 minutes after sunset. Use binoculars to locate it. This speedy world approaches its greatest elongation during the first half of the month.
Meanwhile, bright Jupiter, 82° to the upper left of Venus, is 33° up in the south. This giant planet is 2° west of Zubenelgenubi. Saturn, just past its opposition and retrograding above the Teapot of Sagittarius, is 13° up in the southeast, 52° to the lower left of Jupiter.
Mars, racing toward its opposition later in the month, rises in the southeast 117 minutes after sunset. The Red Planet, retrograding in Capricornus, appears 34° to the lower left of Saturn. Start looking for the five naked eye planets during the early evening. Look for Mercury during twilight, then wait for Mars to clear the southeast horizon. Here are the highlights for the first half of the month:
In early July, Venus passes the next signpost of the ecliptic, Regulus. This vivid blue star is less than one degree from Venus on July 9.
At mid-month, Venus continues to dominate the evening sky with its brilliance. At 65 minutes after sunset, Venus is 11° up in the west, setting about an hour later. Venus is now 6.5° to the upper left of Regulus. On July 15, the waxing crescent moon is 1.5° to the lower right of Venus. Mercury, now past greatest elongation and fading quickly into the sun’s glare, sets 71 minutes after sunset. Use binoculars to catch it in bright twilight. Jupiter, near Zubenelgenubi, is 30° up in the south-southwest. Saturn, 19° up in the south-southeast, is 51° to the lower left of Jupiter. Mars, the second brightest “star” and rising 65 minutes after sunset, is approaching its perihelic opposition. It is 18° up in the southwest 2 hours before sunrise. Here are the highlights for the second half of the month:
July 16: The waxing crescent moon is 11.9° to the upper left of Venus. The Venus-Regulus gap is 7.7° and growing each day.
The month ends with four bright planets lined up across the early evening sky. Brilliant Venus is 9° up in the west 70 minutes after sunset. Mars is 7° up in the southeast. Mars retrogrades until August 27. It is 30° to the lower left of Saturn, 23° up in the south-southeast, above the Teapot of Sagittarius. It retrogrades until September 6. This ringed wonder is 49° to the left of Jupiter. Jupiter is 26° up in the southwest, 1.5° to the right of Zubenelgenubi. Watch this giant world narrow the gap to the star and pass it next month. Jupiter is 50° to the left of Venus.
Bright Jupiter, complimenting Venus in the western evening sky, shines from the south-southeastern sky this evening. Now well past its opposition, Jupiter is passing Zubenelgenubi, in Libra. Watch as Jupiter passes and moves away from the star.
For more about the bright evening planets, see these articles:
Brilliant Venus shines from the western sky this evening. On a day that started windy with rapidly moving clouds, winds from the northwest prevailed and brought in classical May evening skies to the Chicago area.
Venus appears in the western sky throughout the spring and summer.
Meanwhile in the eastern sky, Jupiter appears near the horizon. Just a few days before its opposition, when it rises at sunset, Jupiter appears low in the sky. Jupiter’s opposition begins a 79-day interval where three bright outer planets — Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn — appear close to Earth and bright in our sky.
For more about the bright evening planets, see these articles:
