Brilliant Morning Star Venus shines from the southeast during twilight this morning. This morning, Jupiter is about 15 degrees to the lower left of Venus. Venus passes the Giant Planet on January 22. Several dimmer stars appear on the image. To note the distance Venus has traveled since it appeared in the morning sky, the planet was near Spica on November 14. Venus passed between Zubenelgenubi and Zubeneschamali on December 25. Venus passes Graffias on January 10. Watch the gap close during the next few mornings.
During the next few mornings, the solar system is on parade. Brilliant Morning Star Venus, about 15 degrees up in the southeast, catches our eye. Saturn is about 8.5 degrees to the lower left of Venus, and Jupiter is 18 degrees to the brilliant planet’s upper right.
We see our solar system from the inside. Most of the stuff in the solar system lies almost in a plane. Seen from our place, the planets appear to move near an imaginary line across the sky, the ecliptic. Bright distant stars appear behind that line, making them sign posts along the planets’ paths. Those stars, Antares – Spica – Regulus – Pollux, arc from the visible planets in the southeast to the northwest horizon. Antares is about 5 degrees below the ecliptic, while Pollux is about 6 degrees above the line. The moon and planets pass nearby, but not as closely as the other bright stars along their paths.
Find a clear horizon and trace the ecliptic’s path across the horizon. On February 18, Venus passes Saturn. Beginning on February 19 – one hour before sunrise -, the moon is near Regulus. Look each morning a the same time to see the moon farther east and its phase growing smaller. Watch it pass the Jupiter late in the month, and Saturn and Venus early next month.
Brilliant Morning Star Venus, bright Jupiter, and the crescent moon shine from the southeast this morning. Venus and Jupiter are about 16 degrees apart this morning. The gap closes during the next three weeks as Venus passes the Giant Planet later this month. The crescent moon (2% illuminated) appears nearly 15 degrees to the lower left of Jupiter. Having a clear horizon or finding a gap in the terrestrial features is important to seeing some astronomical phenomena.
Just 20 minutes earlier, before the moon appeared above the horizon, Antares was barely visible near Jupiter.
January 3, 2019: Brilliant Venus, Jupiter and the waning crescent moon.
A clear sky this morning is welcomed with a display of brilliant Morning Star Venus, Jupiter and the morning crescent moon. Venus is about 16 degrees to the upper right of Jupiter. Venus is closing the gap on Jupiter. The Morning Star passes the Giant Planet on January 22. The crescent moon is about 3.5 degrees to the left of Jupiter this morning.
January 3, 2019: The crescent moon and Jupiter up close.
In both images notice the “earthshine” on the night portion of the moon. From the moon, Earth is nearly at its full phase. The sunlight is reflected from Earth and gently illuminates the night portion of the moon.
During 2019, Magnificent Saturn has a dramatic display in the southern skies throughout the year. It is headed toward a Great Conjunction with Jupiter in 2020. During this appearance Venus passes the planet twice.
Saturn in eastern Sagittarius (Constellation image from Starry Night Pro)
Saturn appears in front of the stars of Sagittarius, although a little farther east compared to its location in 2018. It appears to the upper left of the famous stars of The Teapot of Sagittarius. To the unaided eye, the planet appears as a bright yellow-orange star.
Saturn: The Apparition Begins at Conjunction
Saturn revolves around the sun slowly, one orbit in nearly 30 Earth years. The planet does not move very far against the background of stars. Since it is heading toward a region of dim stars, the starry background is better known by their catalog names than their common names. Saturn starts its apparition about 4° to the upper left of Nunki (σ Sag, m = 2.0). During the apparition, the Ringed Wonder moves beneath three other stars in the constellation: Pi Sagittarii (π Sgr, m = 2.9), Omicron Sagittarii (ο Sgr, m = 3.8), and Xi2 Sagittarii (ξ2 Sgr, m = 3.5). (The “m” number indicates the brightness of a star. The lower the number the brighter the star. Venus has a negative number because of its brilliance. The stars listed here are dimmer stars, visible to most observers, but they are not easily seen near street lights. A binocular helps to distinguish them in the sky.)
Saturn at conjunction, January 1, 2019.
Saturn’s apparition begins with its solar conjunction on January 1, 2019. Saturn is behind the sun and largely invisible to us. It rises with the sun, crosses south near noon, and sets with the sun in the west. As Earth, moving much faster than Saturn, begins to close the space to Saturn, the Ringed Wonder appears in the morning sky.
The morning sky during 2019. The chart shows the rising time of planets, bright stars near the planets’ paths and the moon (circles), along with the three phases of twilight. White boxes indicate conjunctions.
As the chart above indicates, Saturn slowly rises into the morning sky, rising earlier each day. By January 11, Saturn rises at Civil Twilight, when the sun is 6° below the horizon. The sky is bright at 30 minutes before sunrise. Eleven days later it rises at Nautical Twilight, about 60 minutes before sunrise, when the sun is 12° below the horizon. Thirty minutes later it is low in the southeast, visible with a binocular. On February 3, it rises at the beginning of twilight (Astronomical Twilight). It becomes easier to see without optical assistance. It joins brilliant Morning Star Venus and bright Jupiter in the southeast before sunrise.
The First Venus Conjunction
On February 18, Venus passes 1.1° to the upper left of Saturn. Jupiter is far to the upper right of Saturn.
This chart displays Saturn’s apparent motion during 2019
All the objects beyond Earth’s orbit display an unusual pattern midway through their apparitions, retrograde motion. The planet appears to move backward against the stars. Our ancestors were captivated with explaining this unusual motion, especially when Earth was considered to be at the center of the universe. Today we understand this is an illusion of our faster moving Earth passing the slower moving outer planets. Retrograde motion occurs for Mercury and Venus as well, but it is from their faster speeds around the sun. The chart above shows the retrograde pattern of Saturn in eastern Sagittarius.
This chart shows more detail in Saturn’s retrograde motion, along with the dimmer background stars. Two conjunctions with Venus are displayed.
The chart above shows a more detailed view of Saturn’s motion against eastern Sagittarius, along with the two conjunctions with Venus.
Saturn at Evening Quadrature
Saturn continues to rises earlier but gently moves eastward along its celestial path and against the starry background.
Saturn appears 90° west of the sun on April 9, 2019. Look for it in the south near sunrise.
By early April Saturn is 90° west of the sun, appearing in the south near sunrise. The planet rises at about 2:30 a.m. CDT. It is about 26° up in the south as sunrise approaches. By late April, Earth closes in on Saturn and the planet seems to stop moving eastward and it begins to retrograde on April 29. (See the two time-lapse charts above that show Saturn’s apparent motion compared to the starry background.)
Saturn at Opposition
By mid-May, Saturn is rising around midnight (CDT).
Saturn at Opposition, July 9, 2019
Earth is rapidly catching Saturn. The planet continues to rise earlier and on July 9, it rises in the southeast at sunset The sun and Saturn are on opposite sides of Earth. When the sun sets, Saturn rises. At midnight, Saturn is south, opposite 12 hours when the sun is south (at noon). Saturn sets in the southwest at sunrise. Opposition. This occurs about in the middle of the planet’s retrograde motion.
Saturn then rises before sunset appearing higher in the southeast as the sky darkens. By mid-September Saturn’s retrograde motion slows and the planet stops moving westward compared to the starry background on September 17.
Saturn is in the south near sunset on October 7, 2019
A few weeks later, Saturn appears 90° east of the sun, meaning it’s in the south at sunset.
A Second Venus Conjunction
Saturn is then farther west at sunset; it is heading toward its solar conjunction.
Venus passes Saturn on December 10, 2019.
As Saturn heads towards that solar conjunction in early 2020, Venus, during its evening apparition, passes 1.8° to the lower left of Saturn in the southwest. This occurs on December 10, 2019. Look about one hour after sunset.
Saturn Toward Conjunction
Saturn then begins to disappear into bright evening twilight in the western sky, the reverse of how it appeared in the morning sky. The events:
December 19, Saturn sets at Astronomical Twilight.
December 28, Saturn sets at Nautical Twilight.
January 5, 2020, Saturn sets at Civil Twilight.
Saturn returns to its solar conjunction on January 13, 2020.
Saturn then seems to move behind the sun for its solar conjunction, January 13, 2020.
In Saturn’s next apparition, Jupiter passes it in late December 2020. This apparition ends with Jupiter about 17° west of Saturn.
Saturn and the Moon
The moon appears near Saturn several times during the apparition. If you observe Saturn just once a month when the moon is nearby, you’ll see a complete cycle of moon phases.
Brilliant Morning Star Venus, bright Jupiter, and the moon put on a second dazzling display during late January 2019. The first occurred at the beginning of the month. During the two mornings displayed below note the moon’s changing position during the two days. The moon is heading toward its New Phase on February 4.
January 30: About an hour before sunrise, look in the southeast for Venus and Jupiter. Venus (m = −4.3) is 7.7° to the lower left of Jupiter (m = −1.9). The waning crescent moon (24.5 days old — past its New Phase, 18% illuminated) is 6.1° to the upper right of Jupiter.
January 31: An hour before sunrise, the waning crescent moon (25.5 days old, 19% illuminated) appears 2° from Venus with Jupiter 8.5° to the upper right of Venus. This morning the moon and Venus resemble the stylized rock art “supernova” petroglyph on an overhang in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. The unanswerable question is whether the artist was admiring a close conjunction of the moon and Venus or the moon and the supernova of 1054. (Or of some other bright star or planet near the moon’s ambling.) Take a look and ponder the possibilities.
The Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, “Supernova” Petroglyph. Photo E. C. Krupp, Published in Scientific American Blogs
The new year opens with brilliant Morning Star Venus, bright Jupiter, and the crescent moon in the southeast before sunrise. Watch the moon appear lower in the sky each morning and its phase diminish as it heads towards its New Moon phase on January 5. Here’s what to look for:
January 1: At about an hour before sunrise, the waning crescent moon (25.3 days old — past its new phase, 19% illuminated) is 24° up in the southeast, with Venus (m = −4.6), 4.7° to the lower left of the crescent. The moon is nearly between Zubenelgenubi (Z1 on the chart) and Zubeneschamli (Z2). Venus’ rapid motion is carrying it toward a widely-spaced conjunction with Jupiter later this month. Jupiter (m = −1.8) is about 18° to the lower left of Venus and 5.3° to the upper left of Antares.
January 2: Venus is 25° up in the southeast, about one hour before sunrise). It is 17.3° to the upper right of Jupiter, and slowly closing that gap. The waning crescent moon (26.2 days old, 11% illuminated) lies in between them. The moon is 11.6° above Antares. If you have a telescope look at Venus. It has a phase, like the moon displays; the Venusian terminator (line that divides day and night) is slightly curved, indicating a very thick morning crescent phase; the half phase is only days away (January 6).
January 3: Again this morning an hour before sunrise, the waning crescent moon (27.2 days old, 6% illuminated) is 3.5° to the left of Jupiter. Brilliant Venus is 16.5° to the upper right of Jupiter.
2019, January 3: Brilliant Venus, Jupiter and the waning crescent moon.
January 3, 2019: The crescent moon and Jupiter up close.
The moon repeats it motion past these bright planets at month’s end.
